Hundreds of demonstrators attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran on Jan. 3, 2016

The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani announced that “those who stormed the Saudi Embassy have been brought to justice and are awaiting trial.”

The Iranian state news agency quoted Shamkhani as having told a press conference “the government is following the issue of the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran”, adding that the attackers had been identified.

The statement went on to say that the case had been referred to the courts and that their trial would follow.

Shamkhani did not disclose the identity of those involved in the embassy attack.

But Iranian media, state and religious sources previously revealed the identity of the mastermind behind the attack as a man said to be close to the regime named as “Hassan Kurd Meehan.”

Meehan was said to have previously been fighting in the ranks of the Revolutionary Guards in Syria.

Iran has previously been criticized for its failure to provide adequate security for the embassies on its territories. The recent attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran and the attack on the Saudi consulate in Mashhad, were just the most recent cases.

Kurd Meehan, who is said to have been arrested by the Iranian authorities on charges of plotting the attack, belongs to the “Ansar of Hezbollah” militia in the city of Karaj, southwest of Tehran. The group is said to be close to the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad were attacked by Iranian protesters in the early hours of Sunday, Jan. 3, following the execution of a Saudi Shiite preacher along with 46 others.

At the time of the attacks Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling on protesters to respect the diplomatic premises after police dispersed angry protesters who had stormed the Saudi embassy.

Among the 47 terrorism convicts executed were Fares al-Shuwail, said to be a high ranking member of Al Qaeda, and Shiite preacher Nimr al-Nimr.

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.

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