Baghdad, Iraq, Sep 7
Protesters stormed the Iranian consulate in southern Iraq’s city of Basra, setting it on fire as part of deadly demonstrations against lack of services and jobs in which several government buildings have been ransacked and torched.
Demonstrators on Friday broke into the consulate building in Basra, shouting condemnation of what many Iraqis perceive as Tehran’s interference in their country’s politics.
The consulate was reportedly empty when the crowd burst in.
In comments to Iranian state news agency Fars, Bahram Ghassemi, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, denied that Iranian nationals were being told to leave Basra.
The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, condemning the Iraqi protest’s assault on the Consulate General in Basra, reminded the Iraqi government for protecting diplomatic premises and demanded the punishment of the perpetrators of the incident.
Iraqi security officials announced a citywide curfew in Basra, a city of two million people, warning that “anyone present in the street” would be arrested.
It should be noted that at least 11 people have been killed since the protests began in Basra.