Iraq reassures foreign diplomatic missions of their security after Swedish embassy stormed

Campaigner desecrates the Quran in Stockholm for the second time in weeks

Demonstrators with the Quran during a rally after Friday prayers in the eastern Sadr City suburb of Baghdad. AFP

Iraq on Saturday reassured diplomatic missions in the country of their security, saying the government would not allow a recurrence of the storming of the Swedish embassy.

The Foreign Ministry statement came a day after hundreds of demonstrators stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad and started a fire in protest against plans to burn the Quran in Stockholm.

“The Iraqi government is fully committed to the Vienna Convention that regulates diplomatic relations among countries and assures all resident diplomatic missions of their security and protection,” Reuters reported, quoting the ministry statement.

“What happened to the embassy of the kingdom of Sweden in Baghdad cannot be repeated, and any similar act will be subject to legal accountability,” it said.

On Friday, the UAE summoned the Swedish charge d'affaires and handed her a note of protest against the repeated attacks and abuses on the Quran, state news agency Wam reported.

Liselott Andersson was informed of the UAE's strong condemnation of her country's government “allowing repeated attacks on copies of the Quran”.

The UAE condemned the decision of the Swedish government to continue to allow such acts to occur and said that Sweden has disregarded its international responsibilities and demonstrated a lack of respect for social values in this matter.

Iraq on Friday called for an Islamic summit to discuss the desecration, as Sweden temporarily moved its embassy in Iraq to Stockholm.

Ahmed Al Sahaf, a spokesman for the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, told The National on Friday that Minister Fuad Hussein had called for an emergency session of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation.

“Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein is intensifying his efforts with our Arab and Islamic counterparts to hold the Islamic summit conference and have an emergency session at a ministerial level to discuss the repercussions of Islamophobia and the burning of the Quran,” Mr Al Sahaf said.

On Thursday, the Quran was desecrated in Stockholm for the second time in weeks, defying condemnation from Iraq where Sweden's ambassador was expelled in protest.

Iraq asked the ambassador to leave its territory and recalled its charge d’affaires from Stockholm as the stunt took place outside its mission in Sweden.

Salwan Momika kicked the Quran around on a patch of grass as police looked on, after they had granted him a permit to hold a gathering outside the Stockholm embassy.

The book was not set on fire.

Baghdad had said it was prepared to cut diplomatic ties with Sweden over the issue of desecrating holy books.

People took to the streets in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon on Friday in protest on Friday.

In Baghdad's Sadr City, demonstrators burnt the Swedish flag and chanted: “Yes, yes to the Quran, no, no to Israel.”

In Lebanon, thousands gathered at a protest called by the Iran-backed militia and political party Hezbollah, with demonstrators brandishing copies of the Quran and chanting: “With our blood, we protect the Quran.” Some also burnt Swedish flags.

Demonstrations in Tehran and other cities were aired on state television.

Qatar summoned Sweden's ambassador to hand him a protest note over the desecration of the Quran in Stockholm, the Foreign Ministry said.

It said it would demand Swedish authorities take “all the necessary measures to stop these shameful acts”.

Saudi Arabia on Thursday summoned the Swedish charge d'affaires in Riyadh and handed them a note of protest.