TEHRAN - British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has expressed concern over attack on Iran’s consulate in the Iraqi city of Najaf, Iranian Ambassador to London Hamid Baeidinejad said in tweet on Friday.

A group of rioters stormed into the Islamic Republic’s diplomatic mission in Najaf on Wednesday and set it ablaze. They also replaced the Iranian flag with an Iraqi one. Reportedly, the consulate had already been evacuated of its staff.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammad Ali al-Hakim has apologized to the Islamic Republic.

During a phone call on Thursday, Hakim told Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that his country was committed to protecting Iran’s diplomatic missions and their staff in Iraq, according to Press TV.

This is the second attack on an Iranian diplomatic mission in Iraq after its office in the Shia holy city of Karbala was attacked last month.

Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad Iraj Masjedi said on Thursday that the attack was aimed at damaging relations between Iran and Iraq.

“Definitely, the objective behind setting fire on Iran’s consulate in Najaf is damaging good and brotherly relations between the two neighboring countries of Iran and Iraq by certain foreign and internal elements in Iraq,” the ambassador remarked.

Masjedi noted that good relations between Iran and Iraq have made certain countries in the region angry.

He called on the Iranian people to practice self-restraint, noting that actions done by the limited number of rioters do not reflect actions of the Iraqi people.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi has expressed disgust at the attack and urged the Iraqi government to “take responsible, decisive and effective action against destructive agents and aggressors.”

“Iran has officially communicated its strong protest to Iraq’s ambassador in Tehran,” Press TV quoted him as saying on Thursday.

NA/PA