Teheran condemns torching consulate

TEHERAN - Iran on Thursday demanded Iraq take decisive action against "aggressors" behind an arson attack on its consulate during protests in the neighboring country's holy city of Najaf.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi, quoted by its state news agency IRNA, condemned the attack and "demanded decisive, effective and responsible action... against destructive agents and aggressors".

"Iran has officially communicated its disgust to the Iraq ambassador in Teheran," he said.

The Najaf consulate was set alight late on Wednesday during anti-government protests, sending tall flames and thick clouds of smoke into the sky, an Agence France-Presse correspondent reported.

A source told Xinhua News Agency that dozens of demonstrators rallied outside the Iranian consulate in the evening before they broke into the building and started a fire inside it.

The Iranian consulate employees fled the building before the attack by the protesters, said the source, on condition of anonymity.

The authorities in Najaf, about 160 kilometers south of the capital Baghdad, declared a curfew in the city starting from Wednesday night until further notice, the source added.

The governor of Najaf Province later said in a statement that work would be suspended in all government institutions, except for those for providing security, health and other vital public services, because most of the main roads in the province have been blocked by the anti-government demonstrations.

The consulate attack came as mass demonstrations continued in Baghdad and other cities in central and southern Iraq. The protests began in early October with demands for comprehensive reforms, efforts against corruption, improved public services and more job opportunities. The protesters also decried growing Iranian influence in Iraqi state affairs.

Protesters had attacked the Iranian consulate in Karbala earlier this month, scaling concrete barriers around the building.

Security forces have fired bullets, tear gas and smoke bombs almost daily since the unrest began. At least 350 people have been killed and thousands wounded in what has become the largest grassroots protest movement in Iraq's modern history, according to The Associated Press.

Two protesters were killed and 35 wounded when security forces fired live rounds to disperse them from Baghdad's historic Rasheed Street, security and hospital officials said.

Protesters are occupying three key bridges in central Baghdad - Jumhuriya, Ahrar and Sinar - in a standoff with security forces. On Wednesday, they also burned tires on Ahrar Bridge to block security forces from reaching the area.

The unrest has paralyzed daily life in many towns and cities, with schools intermittently closed, streets blockaded and government offices emptied.