Following the latest incident that occurred in Iraq’s Karbala yesterday evening, the Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the attacks towards its consulate in the Iraqi city.
In the statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh said that “We strongly condemn the attack on our diplomatic facilities in Iraq and call on the Iraqi government to fulfill its duties in protecting Iran’s diplomatic mission.”
The spokesperson added that a letter of protest has also been delivered to the Iraqi Embassy in Tehran.
On Sunday evening, a group of Iraqi protestors gathered in front of the Iranian consulate in Karbala. According to local media, protestors burned tires and made barricades around the consulate.
Protests blew up following the assassination of the Iraqi activist Ihab Al-Wazni on Saturday night outside his home in Karbala. The identity of whom carried the assassination has not been known so far. Following the spread of news regarding the killing of Al-Wazni, a large number of protestors gathered in the city center, blocked main roads, and burned tires.
During the funeral of Al-Wazni at the shrine of Imam Hussein Karbala, the protestors chanted slogans against Iran.
In November 2019, the Iranian Consulate in Karbala was once again targeted by protesters as part of nationwide anti-government demonstrations. At that time, demonstrators blamed Iran for interfering in Iraq’s internal affairs, which Tehran has insistently denied.
Al-Wazni was reported to play a significant role during the 2019 anti-government demonstrations in Iraq.
