Iran to hold off on appointing Sweden envoy over Quran incident

Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday said Tehran will hold off on sending a new ambassador to Sweden in protest over the burning of the Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm earlier this week.

An Iraqi refugee stomped on and burned a Quran outside Stockholm’s central mosque on Wednesday, coinciding with the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. Salwan Momika had received a permit from Swedish police to stage his protests, with authorities saying it was in line with freedom of expression. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the procedure of appointing a new ambassador to the Nordic country had been suspended, despite the new ambassador being ready to be sent to his new role. 

Amir-Abdollahian did not specify how long they would refrain from sending the new ambassador. 

Iran’s foreign ministry on Thursday summoned Sweden’s charge d’affaires to condemn the Quran burning incident. 

“Allowing sacrilege&insult to Quran under any justification by Sweden is unacceptable,” Amir-Abdollahian tweeted in condemnation. 

The Swedish foreign ministry on Thursday released a statement rejecting “the Islamophobic act committed by an individual in Sweden” and said the act does not reflect the opinions of the Swedish government.

The incident has received widespread condemnation from Muslims around the world, with protesters in Iraq, where Momika originates from, storming the Swedish embassy in Baghdad. 

On Saturday, the European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Union’s diplomatic service, condemned attacks against Swedish diplomatic premises and called for calm and restraint, while “strongly rejecting” the burning of a Quran.