Iran warned on Saturday that Saudi Arabia will pay "a high price" for executing prominent religious figure, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

Iran warned on Saturday that Saudi Arabia will pay "a high price" for executing prominent religious figure, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari strongly condemned the execution, which came after the Islamic Republic repeatedly asked Riyadh to pardon the cleric.

"The Saudi government supports terrorist movements and extremists, but confronts domestic critics with oppression and execution... the Saudi government will pay a high price for following these policies," he said, quoted by the official IRNA news agency.

"The execution of a figure like Sheikh al-Nimr, who had no means to follow his political and religious goals but through speaking out, merely shows the extent of irresponsibility and imprudence," said Ansari.

Saudi authorities announced on Saturday it had executed Sheikh Nimr along with 46 others.

Sheikh Nimr was a vocal supporter of the mass pro-democracy protests against Riyadh, which erupted in Eastern Province in 2011, where a Shia majority has long complained of marginalization.