Supporters of Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Iraq's central shrine city of Kufa, east of nearby Najaf, march to denounce the Quran-burning in Sweden, July 21, 2023. (Credit: Qassem al-KAABI / AFP)
The Iraqi government sought to reassure diplomatic missions in the country of their security Saturday, saying it would not allow a recurrence of the storming of the Swedish embassy.
The statement from the Foreign Ministry came a day after hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad, setting it on fire in protest against plans to burn a copy of the Quran in Stockholm. Iraq also expelled the Swedish ambassador.
“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,” the ministry said, adding that “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.”