The attendance of Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud at the July 9 rally backed by the Iranian opposition group People’s Mujahedeen of Iran (MEK, or Mujahedeen-e-Khalq) has angered many Iranian officials and media. The rally in Paris is typically condemned by Iran, given the group's history of carrying out attacks against the Islamic Republic. However, the attendance and speech of Faisal, who is part of the Saudi royal family and was head of Saudi intelligence for over two decades, has brought charges by Iranian officials of Saudi material support for terrorism against Iran.

The presence of Faisal “shows the longstanding link” between Saudi Arabia and the MEK, said Ramazan Sharif, the head of public relations for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, former deputy foreign minister for Arab and African Affairs, said of Faisal’s comments' supporting the MEK in the overthrow of the Islamic Republic: “These statements confirm that Saudi Arabia’s widespread financial and security support for terrorism has always been the agenda of Riyadh.” Many Iranians have often wondered how the MEK could afford to pay exorbitant sums, ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 for a single appearance, to former US officials to speak on its behalf.

Mohsen Rezaei, IRGC commander during the Iran-Iraq War and current secretary of the Expediency Council, accused Saudi Arabia of being responsible for the attacks by the MEK and also accused the Gulf country of supporting recent attacks by Kurdish groups against Iran’s security forces.

Conservative Iranian media likened Faisal’s appearance to former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s support of the MEK. An article in the IRGC-affiliated newspaper Javan was headlined, “Saudi in the direction of Saddam.” A Mashregh News article was headlined, “The hypocrites yesterday with Saddam, today with Wahhabi Saudis.” Iranian media and officials often refer to the MEK with the religiously charged term “hypocrites.”