Iran has lodged a letter of formal protest with the Iraqi government regarding the attack by British troops on its consulate in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Thursday to convey Tehran’s displeasure at the event, stressing the Iraqi government’s responsibility for providing the consulate staff with security based on international conventions.

Iranian Foreign Ministry officials have said a number of British armored personnel carriers surrounded the consulate in Basra and began shooting without any reason early in the morning.

The sources added that the move by British forces began about 10:30 a.m. local time and went on for 45 minutes.

The incident was the third of its kind in March where the British troops had surrounded the consulate with no specific reason. This time, however, the troops had virtually besieged the building.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry officials said the British soldiers were shooting in the air without any targets. They, however, said the soldiers did not fire at the main building.

Iran’s consulate in Basra is located about 400 meters from former Saddam Hussein’s palace used by the British troops as a military base.

Earlier, Iran’s Chief Consul in Basra said the British were trying to provoke and infuriate Iranians after the detention of their navy personnel who had illegally entered Iranian territory in the Persian Gulf.

A spokesman for the British forces in Iraq confirmed the incident but claimed the attack had been a result of a “geographical coincidence,” without providing further details.

Source

H/T Patriot for this story.