- Iraq recalled its charge d’affaires in Sweden back to Baghdad.
- Sweden’s Ericsson’s working permit on Iraqi soil suspended.
- The decision comes after protesters set fire to the Swedish embassy.
Iraq on Thursday expelled the Swedish ambassador and recalled its charge d’affaires in Sweden and warned the Scandinavian country it would sever its diplomatic ties with Stockholm if it allowed the holy Quran to be burned again.
The decision came hours after hundreds of people stormed and set fire to the Swedish embassy in Baghdad.
In a statement issued Thursday from the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, the Iraqi government strongly condemned the burning of the Swedish embassy, declaring it a security breach, and vowed to protect diplomatic missions.
The state news agency also reported that Iraq had suspended Sweden’s Ericsson’s working permit on Iraqi soil.
However, the statement also warned the Swedish government: “A repetition of the incident involving the burning of the Holy Quran on Swedish soil would require the breaking of diplomatic relations.”
Meanwhile, Iraq has also recalled its charge d’affaires in Sweden.
Protesters gathered outside the Swedish embassy at 1 p.m. on Thursday against another plan to burn the holy Quran earlier in the day in Stockholm.
The burning of the Holy Quran comes weeks after a man desecrated the Holy Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm while Muslims were celebrating Eid-ul-Adha.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said that the embassy staff were safe but that the Iraqi authorities had failed in their responsibility to protect the embassy according to the Vienna Convention.
Bilstrom said that what happened was “completely unacceptable and the government strongly condemns these attacks”.
“The government is in contact with high-level Iraqi representatives to express their disappointment,” he said.
Thursday’s demonstration was called by supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who is one of Iraq’s most powerful figures with thousands of followers, according to posts on a popular Telegram group linked to the influential cleric and other pro-Sadr media.
Protesters chanted, “Yes, yes to the Quran.”
Sadr said in a tweet on Thursday that the Iraqi government should not resort only to condemnation and take a tough stand.
“I will wait for a concrete official response before taking any action,” Sadr tweeted.
After the burning, the man, who described himself as an Iraqi refugee, was reported to the police for agitating against an ethnic or national group demanding a ban on the Holy Quran.
In response, the governments of several Muslim countries, including Iraq, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Morocco, issued protests regarding the incident, with Iraq seeking the man’s extradition to face trial in the country. reuters,
