Iran supreme leader condemns Saudi embassy attack

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicly condemned Wednesday for the first time the January 2 attack on Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran as "a very bad and wrong incident".

"Like the British embassy attack before it, this was against the country (Iran) and Islam, and I didn't like it," he added.

Britain's embassy in Tehran was stormed and ransacked by a mob in 2011.

The arson attack on Saudi Arabia's embassy -- for which local media reports say as many as 140 people have been arrested -- led to Riyadh quickly severing diplomatic ties with Tehran.

The incident occurred late at night after Saudi Arabia executed Shiite cleric and activist Nimr al-Nimr, a force behind 2011 anti-government protests in the eastern province, for crimes against the kingdom.

Khamenei and Iranian officials lambasted Saudi Arabia over the killing.
However his remarks on Wednesday, in a speech to electoral officials ahead of the country's parliamentary polls on February 26, underscored that the embassy attack had no sympathy from within the Islamic republic's establishment.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani at the time said the violence was committed by "rogue elements" acting against the country's interests.

The embassy vandals took selfies and smartphone video footage where they were seen holding items stolen from inside the building, causing deep embarrassment in Tehran.

Rouhani and other officials condemned the arson and looting -- seen by millions worldwide via social media -- and he has urged speedy prosecutions.

- US sailors -

Iranian authorities have said that those detained included the assault's ringleader but no charges have been announced.

The cutting of relations set back efforts made by Rouhani's government since July, when a nuclear deal with the West was struck, to boost Iran's clout in international diplomacy, particularly in peace talks on Syria.

In the weeks since tensions have only risen between Iran, the region's main Shiite Muslim power and Saudi Arabia, its Sunni rival, with each accusing the other of damaging the Middle East.

On top of the ongoing wars in Syria and Yemen, the execution of Nimr, a Saudi Shiite who spent more than a decade studying theology at Iran's seminaries, set Tehran and Riyadh at odds.

Khamenei also spoke for the first time Wednesday about the brief detention by Iran's Revolutionary Guards' naval force of 10 US Navy personnel who strayed into Iranian waters in the Gulf.

"This move by our dear youth... against the enemies' aggression in our waters, they showed power," Khamenei said.

"I didn't have an opportunity to thank them. I really thank them. It was a very appropriate action," he added.

The arrests of the American sailors on January 13 came just days before Iran was due to implement its nuclear deal with world powers, including the United States.

A dramatic series of events started with the sailors -- nine men and a woman -- being taken into custody after their two patrol boats drifted into Iranian territory.

US and Iranian officials scrambled to defuse the situation, which had raised alarm in Washington, but after informal talks with Tehran, the Guards said the 10 sailors had been set free.

Source: AFP