DHAKA: Reports have emerged of crowds breaking into and setting fires at the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran.

The Iranian police have dispersed the protesters from inside the embassy and the Iranian Foreign Ministry has appealed for calm, and to respect diplomatic premises. 

Photos and video posted to social media, which have not been verified, show numerous protesters within the embassy compound, and fires lighting up the building.

One video appears to show a Molotov cocktail being thrown at the building

An Iranian journalist seemingly at the scene, Sobhan Hassanvand, posted images of masked protesters clutching a Saudi flag which appears to have been torn down, and video of protesters trashing rooms. 

The protests follow the Saudi execution of a highly regarded Shia Muslim cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on Saturday, reports the independent.co.uk. 

The Iranian government itself has been highly critical of Nimr’s execution.  “The Saudi government supports terrorist movements and takfiri [ideology],” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari stated, “but confronts domestic critics with oppression and execution... the Saudi government will pay a high price for following these policies.”

BDST: 0938 HRS, JAN 3, 2016
RS