Iran sentences Saudi embassy attackers to jail

Iranian authorities have sentenced protesters accused of storming Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran after the execution of a prominent cleric to up to six months in prison, their lawyer said Friday.

Some of the defendants received three or six months in jail for disturbing public order while others were acquitted over the January attack, Mostafa Shabani said according to the ISNA news agency.

The suspects were cleared of the charge of destruction of the embassy, he said, without specifying how many people were convicted.

In July, 21 suspects in the attack on the embassy in Tehran had appeared in court. Another 27 people were said to be facing trial but their fate is unclear.

Angry protesters had stormed the Saudi embassy in the Iranian capital, in addition to the Saudi consulate in the city of Mashhad after the kingdom executed Shia cleric and activist Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on terrorism charges.

The attack, although officially condemned by the Iranian government, exacerbated existing diplomatic tensions and led to a severing of relations between the two nations. Saudi Arabia’s Gulf allies also severed diplomatic relations with Tehran after the incident.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had called on his country's judiciary to prosecute those who attacked the embassy, calling their actions "totally unjustified".

"By punishing the attackers and those who orchestrated this obvious offence, we should put an end once and for all such damage and insults to Iran's dignity and national security," Rouhani said in a letter published by Iranian state agency.

Agencies contributed to this report