Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani on Thursday expelled Sweden's ambassador to Baghdad and recalled the country's ambassador to Stockholm as tensions flared over Koran burning.
The prime minister's office said the moves were made in response to the "Swedish government's repeated permission for burning the Holy Quran, insulting Islam and burning Iraqi flag."
Iraq had previously threatened to cut off all diplomatic relations with Sweden if it continued to permit Koran burnings.
"The Iraqi government has informed the Swedish government through diplomatic channels that any recurrence of the incident involving the burning of the Holy Koran on Swedish soil would necessitate severing diplomatic relations," a statement from the Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office on Twitter said.
The action came after the Swedish embassy in Baghdad was swarmed by Iraqi protesters as Salwan Momika, an Iraqi national living in Sweden, organized an anti-Muslim protest in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm on Thursday. No Korans were burned but two protesters were shown on video destroying the Koran while another appeared to polish his shoes with the Iraqi flag.
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