Shafaq News/ The office of Iraq's top Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani on Thursday denied any connections to representatives making political statements on his behalf.

"Ayatollah al-Sistani does not have any representative whose job is to express his political opinion," an official statement said, "his political opinion can be seen on his website exclusively."

Iranian media quoted a statement attributed to al-Sistani's representative in Iran, Jawad Shahrestani, denouncing the protestors in the Islamic republic as "rabble" and "ignoble".

"Nobody knows did where they come from or Who is the enemy they are serving," he was quoted saying.