MNA � Iran�s foreign ministry has condemned and dismissed allegations made by Washington for shutting down the US consulate in the Iraqi city of Basra, saying that the Americans� remarks are unjustified, unnecessary and clearly part of a blame game.







Foreign�Ministry Spokesman�Bahram�Ghasemi�said on Saturday that�the Islamic Republic of Iran�censures�any attack on diplomats and diplomatic places.

�The ridiculous justification�[provided�by Americans]�for�the closure of the US Consulate General in Basra, which�came after weeks of propaganda�and false allegations against Iran and the Iraqi forces, is a suspicious move�aimed at�evading responsibility�and�pinning the blame on others,� noted�Ghasemi.

Such�claims are made while�there are numerous�overt and covert�indications�that�foreign agents�were involved�in a�recent�brutal attack on the Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Basra,�he noted.

It is clear that such childish�justifications�by the US�are�part of�its�adventurist policies�and�the White House�s�plot to depict Iraq as an insecure country, he went on to say.

He also said the Americans raise such claims in a bid to put pressure on the�Iraqi�government, which is of course�a gross and condemned�move.