Iraqis, Iranians rally as Swedish diplomats leave Baghdad in Koran row

Demonstrators marched in the Iraqi and Iranian capitals Friday to denounce Sweden's permission for protests that desecrate the Koran, as Stockholm withdrew staff from its Baghdad embassy.

Hundreds of people gathered in Baghdad's Sadr City after Friday prayers, chanting "Yes, yes to Islam, yes, yes to the Koran", an AFP correspondent said.

In Tehran, protesters waving Iranian flags and carrying copies of Islam's holy book chanted "Down with the United States, Britain, Israel and Sweden" as some burned the Swedish flag.

The rallies came amid heightened tensions between Stockholm and Baghdad over a Sweden-based Iraqi refugee who last month burnt pages of the Koran outside Stockholm's main mosque.

In the latest such incident on Thursday, the refugee, Salwan Momika, stepped on the Koran but did not burn it. His act triggered renewed condemnation across the Muslim world.

Sweden on Friday cited security concerns in a decision to relocate embassy staff after protesters stormed its embassy compound in a pre-dawn attack this week.

"The embassy's operations and its expatriate staff have been temporarily relocated to Stockholm for security reasons," the Swedish foreign ministry said.

Iraq condemned the embassy attack but retaliated against the Stockholm protest by expelling its ambassador, vowing to sever ties and saying it was suspending the operating licence of Swedish telecom giant Ericsson.

But an adviser to the premier told foreign journalists Friday that contractual agreements would be respected, and "no company has been suspended, not even Ericsson".

Baghdad's Sadr City district protester Sabbah al-Tai, 45, said expelling Sweden's ambassador was not enough. "We want more," he said.

Crowds gathered there at the order of influential Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, whose followers were behind the embassy raid late Wednesday.

Some protesters burned rainbow flags which Sadr says highlights the "double standard" of Western governments in defending LGBTQ rights while allowing the desecration of religious texts.

"Through this demonstration, we want to send a message to the United Nations," said Amer Shemal, a municipal official, urging member states to "penalise any desecration of holy books -- those of Islam, of Christianity, of Judaism".

Regional powerhouses Saudi Arabia and Iran said separately late Thursday they had summoned Swedish diplomats to protest against Stockholm allowing Momika's actions on free speech grounds.

Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites, said it would urge Sweden "to take all immediate and necessary measures to stop these disgraceful acts", a foreign ministry statement said.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian spoke to his Swedish counterpart Tobias Billstrom by phone on Friday.

"The person who committed this unforgivable insult must be arrested, tried, and held accountable for his actions; otherwise, Sweden should wait for the decisive decisions of Islamic countries," a foreign ministry statement quoted him as saying.

Protesters across Iran heeded a call from authorities for nationwide demonstrations after Friday prayers. Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside Sweden's Tehran embassy to demand its closure and the ambassador's expulsion.

Protesters threw eggs and tomatoes at the building and staged a sit-in before dispersing, an AFP journalist said. Kuwait's foreign minister also spoke to Billstrom by phone and condemned the Swedish police decision to allow Momika's "heinous act", the Kuwait News Agency reported.

Kuwait was coordinating with Arab states to hold an emergency meeting of the Jeddah-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to take "concrete and practical" measures so such an insult to the Koran would not be repeated. In Jordan the foreign ministry said it summoned Sweden's charge d'affaires, calling the Stockholm protest "an expression of a culture of hatred".

Oman also condemned "the provocation of the feelings of Muslims and their sanctities and the incitement to violence and hatred", state news agency ONA said.

June's Koran burning, during the Eid al-Adha holiday, had sparked indignation and diplomatic protests across the Muslim world.