(VOVworld) – A senior Iranian security official has been sacked due to his failure to stop the ransacking of Saudi Arabia’s embassy, which led Riyadh to sever diplomatic relations with Iran.

Deputy governor general of Tehran Province for security affairs, Safar-Ali Baratlou. (Photo: Presstv.us)

Iran’s Interior Ministry said Safar Ali Baratlou’s replacement as security deputy to Tehran’s governor general was already under review. The ministry says failures were confirmed after initial investigations, adding that it cannot overlook the smallest failures and factors that led to the incident.

Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with Tehran after Saudi Arabia’s execution of 47 people, including Shiite religious cleric Nimr al-Nimr, on terrorism charges.

The execution led to a number of anti-Saudi Arab protests.