Iran condemns weekend attack on consulate in Iraq

Iran on Monday issued a sharp condemnation on a weekend attack on its consulate in the southern Iraqi city of Karbala.

“It is the international duty of the Iraqi government to protect diplomatic facilities in the country,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said, adding that this duty had not been met in Karbala on Sunday.

Iran’s protest had also been sent to the Iraqi embassy in Tehran, he told a press conference.

Protesters attacked the consulate on Sunday, protesting the killing of an activist, witnesses said.

They stormed the outer enclosure of the consulate building and torched parts of it, videos shared in social media showed.

The demonstrators also set fire to the consulate guards’ booths.

Security forces fired live ammunition to disperse the demonstrators, leaving at least 10 people injured, according to the witnesses.

The protest came in response to the killing of Iraqi activist, Ihab Jawad, who was shot dead by unknown gunmen outside his house in Karbala on Saturday, security sources said.

His killing was the latest in a series of attacks on pro-reform activists in Iraq blamed by protesters on pro-Iranian militias.