Iran condemns Iraq over protester attack on consulate

Iran’s Foreign Ministry yesterday summoned the Iraqi ambassador in Tehran and handed him a “letter of protest” following an attack on the Iranian consulate in Karbala.

“Iran strongly condemns attacks on its diplomatic sites in Iraq,” the ministry’s spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters.

On Saturday, dozens of Iraqi demonstrators set fire to trailers belonging to Iran’s consulate, protesting against the killing of Ihab Al-Wazni, a vocal opponent of Iran’s influence in Iraq and Tehran-linked armed groups in the country.

“It is the international duty of the Iraqi government to protect diplomatic facilities in the country,” Khatibzadeh said, noting that this duty “was not met.”

He called on the Iraqi government to take the “necessary security measures to protect the Iranian diplomatic missions.”

On his part, the Iraqi ambassador stressed that his government was “committed to ensuring the security and safety of foreign missions.”

READ: Iraq reinforces security presence at Iran consulate in Karbala