[[{"content_id":"1896","domain_id":"0","lang_id":"en","portal_id":"2","owner_id":"83","user_id":"2","view_accesslevel_id":"0","edit_accesslevel_id":"0","delete_accesslevel_id":"0","editor_id":"2","content_title":"Iraqis march in Basra to deplore attack on Iran consulate","content_number":"","content_date_event":"2018-09-16 09:44:54","content_summary":"Iraqis from different walks of life have staged a march in the southern city of Basra to condemn a recent attack on Iran\u2019s consulate in the city.","content_summary_fill":"1","content_body":" \r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\tTrampling on US and Israeli flags, the Iraqi demonstrators chanted slogans in support of Iran and praised the country’s help to the Iraqi military and volunteer forces in the fight against terrorism.\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe demonstrators accused Washington of increasingly interfering in the domestic affairs of Iraq and trying to stoke unrest in the Arab country.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nPressTV-Iran condemns 'brutal' attack on Basra consulate\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\nIran condemns a 'brutal' attack on its consulate in Iraq’s Basra, and calls for the severe punishment of the perpetrators.\r\n\r\n\r\nThe march came a few days after a group of people ransacked Iran’s consulate in Basra and set the diplomatic post on fire. The Friday attack drew wide condemnation from Iraqi government officials while some blamed it on certain foreign governments who have been seeking to stoke division in Iraq.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nDemonstrators waving Iranian and pro-Iranian party flags step on a US flag during a protest on September 15, 2018, against the torching of the Iranian consulate and the Hashed al-Shaabi party (Popular Mobilization Units) headquarters during recent protests in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. (AFP photo)\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIran has been a major ally of the Iraqi government in its fight against Daesh since the Takfiri terrorist group ran over parts of the country four years ago. Relying on Tehran’s assistance, the Iraqi military and allied Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) have managed to retake many areas from the grip of militants, especially in west and north of Iraq.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe US and some countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, have been wary of Iran’s increasing clout in Iraq as they have mounted pressure on Baghdad to seek the dismantling of the PMU forces because of their links to Iran. The Iraqi government has resisted those pressures.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nPressTV-US diplomatic missions behind Basra unrest: Iraqi group\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\nIraq's Hashd al-Sha’abi says it has evidence showing the US diplomatic missions in the Arab country have instigated the recent violence in Basra.\r\n\r\n\r\nIraqi officials blamed the US for recent unrest in Basra, with senior lawmaker Intisar Hassan al-Musawi saying Friday that the presence of the American consulate in the oil-rich city was a threat to Iraq's security.\r\n\r\n“The US consulate in Basra poses a threat to the security and sovereignty of the country,” said Musawi, adding that the Americans in Basra and “some civil society organizations” were behind the recent ransacking of government offices and Iran’s consulate in the city.","content_html":"
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