KARBALA/TEHRAN (Dispatches) – Tribal heads in Karbala have apologized to the Iranian nation and government over a recent attack against Iran’s consulate in the holy Iraqi city.
They met with Iran’s Consul General in Karbala Mir-Masoud Husseinian on Wednesday and offered their apology for Sunday’s raid by a group of assailants on the Iranian diplomatic mission.
They said the attackers could not disrupt the "brotherly and strong relations” between the Iranians and the people of Karbala, adding Tehran has stood with the Iraqis during difficult times.
Husseinian, for his part, stressed that the incident would not affect Baghdad-Tehran ties and expressed hope that the Iraq unrest would end soon.
On Sunday, a group of rioters scaled the concrete barriers surrounding Iran’s Karbala consulate and spray-painted scurrilous writings on its perimeter walls.
Several others threw stones and burned tires around the Iranian consulate building, prompting Iraqi security forces to fire in the air to disperse the crowd.
Local sources said an Iraqi element affiliated to the Ba'ath Party has been arrested over the attack.
In Tehran, Iran’s top security official denounced plots hatched by the U.S. and its regional partners to stir up unrest in Iraq and Lebanon, saying the "scenario” will fail.
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani said on Thursday Washington and its allies are taking advantage of legitimate economic and social demands of protesters in Iraq and Lebanon in a bid to create insecurity and instability in both countries.
"Thanks to the deep understanding of the people and the unparalleled role of the religious leadership in Iraq, the scenario by the U.S. and its regional puppets will fail like the Daesh sedition,” he said.
Iraq is grappling with anti-government protests in several cities, where a peaceful agitation has turned violent on several occasions, with certain elements vandalizing public property and opening fire on protesters during the mayhem.
Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri warned Thursday the enemies are exploiting the Iraqi and Lebanese people’s legitimate demands in order to bring mercenary governments to power
The religious leadership and the people of both countries, however, will counter such conspiracies, Baqeri added.
The Iraqi and Lebanese governments should resolve their people's problems, he said, adding no one has the right to meddle in the two countries' affairs.
Similar to Iraq, Lebanon has also witnessed mass anti-government demonstrations, which led to the resignation of Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri late last month.