Tehran, Iran (AP) — Iran has criticized the participation of a Saudi prince and former intelligence chief in an Iranian opposition rally in Paris.

The Sunday report by the state-owned IRNA news agency quotes an unnamed official as saying that Prince Turki al-Faisal's participation in the rally backed by the France-based National Council of Resistance of Iran demonstrated Saudi's "political impudence and stupidity." It also accuses Saudi Arabia of sponsoring terrorism.

In remarks aired by broadcaster Al-Arabiya, Prince Turki, the former director of Saudi intelligence, told the Paris gathering that he supported the toppling of the Iranian government.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran is the political affiliate of the exiled Mujahedeen-e-Khalq group.

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein welcomed MEK into Iraq during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war that killed around a million people.