Iraq severs diplomatic relations with Sweden
The flag of Iraq. Photo: Getty Images
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, ordered on Thursday to withdraw the Iraqi charge d’affaires in Stockholm and expel the Swedish ambassador to Iraq, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.
The Iraqi government issued on Thursday a strongly worded statement threatening to sever diplomatic relations with Sweden if it allowed the Quran burner to repeat his act.
The Iraqi government mentioned in the statement that it informed the Swedish government of its intention to sever diplomatic relations if burning copies of the Holy Quran was repeated.
The decision was taken during an urgent meeting with senior military and security officials, chaired by the Iraqi Prime Minister on Thursday morning to discuss permission granted by the Swedish government to an individual to burn the Holy Book later in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, in addition to setting fire the Swedish embassy in Baghdad.
The meeting condemned the setting of fire to the Swedish embassy by protesters, considered the action a security breach that must be dealt with immediately, and stressed that those responsible for the security of the embassy must be held accountable.
Iraqi protesters set fire to the Swedish embassy in Baghdad early Thursday ahead of a planned burning of a Quran in Sweden, AFP reported.
Swedish authorities approved an assembly to be held later Thursday outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, where organizers plan to burn a copy of the Quran as well as an Iraqi flag, AFP added.
On Wednesday, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, during a phone call with his Swedish counterpart, stressed the need to prevent the recurrence of acts offensive to Islam and the Holy Quran, according to INA.
On June 28, Salwan Momika, a refugee of Iraqi origin in Sweden, burned a copy of the Quran outside Stockholm’s central mosque.
Momika, 37, tore up and burned several pages of a copy of the Holy Book outside Stockholm’s central mosque after the Swedish police granted him permission to do so, according to a judicial decision.
The incident sparked a wave of anger in the Arab and Islamic regions.
Following the incident, Iraq called on the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to arrest the Quran burner in Sweden and extradite him to Baghdad.