--- description: About 100 suspects were arrested following an attack on Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran earlier this month, Iran's judiciary said. title: Iran Arrests 100 People Over Saudi Embassy Attack image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1aef2681b4c174c/69887a64428a9e56eacd115b/saudi-embassy-teheran.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Iran](/tag/iran/) ## Iran Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Iran Arrests Around 100 People Over Saudi Embassy Attack  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 24, 2016 9:36 PM CUT  Smoke rises as Iranian protesters, upset over the execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia, set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran on Jan. 3, 2016. Smoke rises as Iranian protesters, upset over the execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia, set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran on Jan. 3, 2016.Mohammadreza Nadimi—AP  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 24, 2016 9:36 PM CUT Around [100 suspects were arrested](http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/01/24/iran-announces-100-arrests-over-attack-on-saudi-embassy.html "undefined") following an attack on Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran earlier this month, a spokesman for Iran’s judiciary said Sunday. The announcement by spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi through Iran’s state TV comes after protesters set fire to the embassy and ransacked its consulate in another Iranian city in response to the kingdom’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric on Jan. 2, the Associated Press reports. The attack “has been condemned by all authorities and we have taken immediate and serious action,” Ejehi said, [according to AFP](http://news.yahoo.com/iran-arrested-100-over-saudi-embassy-attack-judiciary-165823649.html "undefined"). It later led to [Saudi Arabia cutting diplomatic ties with Iran](http://time.com/4167304/un-saudi-arabia-iran-diplomacy/ "undefined"). One person who “had given orders to certain individuals who entered the embassy” was arrested “abroad” and returned to Iran, he said. Some of those arrested have been released, according to Ejehi, who did not give further details. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4191954/iran-arrests-saudi-embassy-attack/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4191954/iran-arrests-saudi-embassy-attack/"},"headline":"Iran Arrests Around 100 People Over Saudi Embassy Attack","datePublished":"2016-01-24T21:36:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T09:08:23.096Z","description":"The attack took place earlier this month","url":"https://time.com/4191954/iran-arrests-saudi-embassy-attack/","keywords":["Iran"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1aef2681b4c174c/69887a64428a9e56eacd115b/saudi-embassy-teheran.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1aef2681b4c174c/69887a64428a9e56eacd115b/saudi-embassy-teheran.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mideast Saudi Arabia Iran Choosing Sides","caption":"Mideast Saudi Arabia Iran Choosing Sides","creditText":"Mohammadreza Nadimi—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/iran/","name":"Iran"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4191954/iran-arrests-saudi-embassy-attack/","name":"Iran Arrests Around 100 People Over Saudi Embassy Attack"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Iranian Protesters Storm Saudi Arabian Embassy After Executions","description":"After Saudi Arabia executed 47 prisoners, included a Shiite cleric, violent protests erupted at an embassy in Tehran.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/x2Vvdpr5/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-01-03T15:43:27.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/x2Vvdpr5.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4191954/iran-arrests-saudi-embassy-attack/","duration":"PT1M26S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4191954/iran-arrests-saudi-embassy-attack/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```