Iran condemns attack on consulate in Erbil

Iran’s Consulate General in Erbil, the capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, condemned a recent act of aggression against the consulate and said the incident was politically motivated.

“On Friday evening, when the Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran was closed, some individuals who had political motives made an act of aggression against the Iranian mission in Erbil,” the Iranian Consulate General said in a statement on Sunday, Tasnim News Agency reported.

Condemning the aggression, the statement rejected the notion that it was carried out by the Kurdish people, saying, “Undoubtedly, such moves have nothing to do with the honorable people of Erbil, who remember the brave battle of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) forces against the Daesh terrorist group….”

The consulate general also urged authorities in the Kurdistan region to fulfill their duty to protect diplomatic missions there.

On Saturday, Iraq’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement, denounced the aggression, saying that the leaders of the Kurdistan Regional Government shoulder full responsibility for the attack.

Following a demonstration near the US’ Chief Consulate and UN office in Erbil in protest against the silence against the Iraqi Army’s advances, a number of people attacked Iran’s Consulate in the city and pulled down Iran’s flag.

The aggression came as the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have been at loggerheads since the Kurds voted overwhelmingly for secession that Baghdad declared illegal.

Despite opposition from Iraq’s neighbors and countries in the region, the Kurdistan region went ahead with its plan to hold the referendum on September 25.