A Saudi foreign affairs official said on Saturday that Iran was the "last in the world who could accuse others of supporting terrorism," following Tehran's response to the execution of a prominent Shiite preacher. "The Iranian regime is the last regime in the world that could accuse others of supporting terrorism, considering that (Iran) is a state that sponsors terror, and is condemned by the United Nations and many countries," said the official in a statement on the official SPA news agency. The source also spoke of Iran's "blatant intervention in the region's countries, [which] covers Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and Syria." Saudi Arabia summoned Iran's ambassador on Saturday over what it described as Tehran's "hostile" reaction to the executions of 47 terrorism convicts, which Shiite preacher Nimr al-Nimr and al-Qaeda ideologue Fares al-Shuwail were among. The execution of Nimr was criticized by Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a prominent Iranian cleric and a member of the Assembly of Experts, who predicted repercussions following the preacher's execution. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari strongly condemned Riyadh for executing Nimr in statements carried by the official IRNA news agency. Parliament speaker Ali Larijani also condemned Nimr's death. Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad were attacked by Iranian protesters early Sunday following the execution of a Saudi Shiite preacher along with 46 others.
