By Mahmoud Barakat
ANKARA (AA) – Iraq on Thursday threatened to sever its diplomatic relationship with Sweden if the desecration of Muslims' holy book, the Quran, occurred again in the future.
“The Iraqi government has informed the Swedish government through diplomatic channels that any recurrence of the incident involving the burning of the Holy Qur’an on Swedish soil would necessitate severing diplomatic relations,” Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani’s office said on Twitter.
The announcement came after protesters in Iraq stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad and set it on fire early Thursday in response to the burning of a copy of the Quran in Sweden.
The protesters' action by followers of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr came after Salwan Momika burned a copy of the Muslim holy book under police protection in front of the Stockholm Mosque in Sweden last month, which was widely condemned in Muslim countries.
The Swedish Foreign Ministry condemned the attack on its embassy in Baghdad, calling it a "serious violation" of the Vienna Convention.