TEHRAN — Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh has denounced a roadside bombing that targeted a British diplomatic convoy in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

In remarks on Thursday, Khatibzadeh also condemned any attack on diplomatic missions, the Foreign Ministry website reported.

Pointing to cases of attacks on Iran’s diplomats and diplomatic sites in Iraq, he called on the Iraqi government to intensify and step up the protection of diplomatic places and guarantee the normal activity of diplomatic missions in that country.

According to the British embassy in Iraq and Iraqi officials, a roadside bombing targeted British diplomatic vehicles in Baghdad on Tuesday.

The attack, the first against a British government vehicle in Iraq in more than a decade, took place outside the capital’s high-security Green Zone that houses the British embassy and other diplomatic missions.

The roads and the area of the attack, between the airport and the heavily fortified Green Zone, are often used by diplomatic missions, the Associated Press quoted an Iraqi official as saying, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The safety and security of our staff is of paramount importance and we are in close touch with the Iraqi authorities,” the British embassy said in a statement.

The attack is the first in months to target a diplomatic convoy and comes amid near daily rocket attacks aimed at the Green Zone and Iraqi army bases hosting U.S. troops. 

MH/PA