Iraq expels Swedish envoy, recalls charge d'affaires over Quran burning

This photo taken on July 20, 2023 shows the damaged Swedish embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

BAGHDAD, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi government on Thursday decided to ask the Swedish ambassador to leave Iraq and recall its charge d'affaires from Sweden in protest against the burning of the Quran and the Iraqi flag in Sweden.

A statement by the government said Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani issued the directives "in response to the repeated permission of the Swedish government to burn the Quran, insult Islamic sanctities, and burn the Iraqi flag."

According to an earlier government statement, the Iraqi government warned the Swedish government on Wednesday night through diplomatic channels that Iraq would sever its diplomatic relations with Sweden if the Quran was burned again on its soil with the permission of the Swedish government under the pretext of freedom of expression.

At dawn on Thursday, hundreds of Iraqis stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad and set fire to the building, protesting the latest incident of burning the Quran and the Iraqi flag in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm by the same person who burned the Quran three weeks ago.

This photo taken on July 20, 2023 shows the damaged Swedish embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

Meanwhile, the Iraqi foreign ministry condemned the arson, saying an investigation will be launched to find out who set fire and hold them accountable according to law.

On June 30, angry protesters stormed the Swedish embassy just outside the heavily-fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad, after a Swedish citizen of Iraqi origin tore up and burned a copy of the Quran in front of a mosque in Stockholm on June 28 during a demonstration authorized by the Swedish authorities.