Malaysia has expressed its concern over the developments in the Middle East, revolving around mob attacks on Saudi Arabian diplomatic missions, Bernama reported.

Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said Malaysia strongly condemns the acts of the mob that attacked the Embassy and Consulate of Saudi Arabia in Tehran and Mashad in Iran, respectively.

“Malaysia thus call for the Iranian authorities to take all appropriate steps to protect the premises of foreign missions with accordance to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as well as the necessary legal actions against the perpetrators of the attacks,” he said in a statement this morning.

On Saturday, a mob attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran and a consulate in the second city of Mashad amid protests at the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, said to be a key figure behind the 2011 anti-government protests in Saudi Arabia.

He was put to death along with 46 other people, including Shiite activists and convicted Sunni militants who the Saudi interior ministry said were involved in Al-Qaeda attacks that killed dozens in 2003 and 2004.

Some were beheaded and others were shot by firing squad. Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic ties with Iran on Sunday following the mob attack. Bahrain and Sudan yesterday followed suit, while the United Arab Emirates said it was downgrading its diplomatic ties with Iran.

Source: MENA