The recent attack on Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran, and before that, the attack on the British embassy, were both detrimental to Iran and Islam, Ayatollah Khamenei said in an address to a group of executive authorities responsible for holding the upcoming parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections.

Imam Khamenei further described the attacks as “a very bad and wrong move”.

The Leader, however, underlined that it should not be used as a pretext for undermining the youth who are devoted to the Islamic Revolution and Islam.

Furious demonstrators in the Iranian cities of Tehran and Mashhad stormed Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic buildings on January 3 in protest at Riyadh’s execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

Senior Iranian officials including President Hassan Rouhani condemned the Saudi execution of the cleric as well as the attacks on diplomatic missions.