Incident at Iranian consulate in Basra

Who knows what happened. There are no reports from reporters at the scene it seems.
Iran is probably fortunate this is a UK controlled area. The US would probably invade the consulate and take the staff prisoners as at Irbil.

Britain denies troops surrounded Iranian consulate in Basra and fired shots
The Associated PressPublished: March 29, 2007




BAGHDAD: At a critical period in the crisis over Iran's seizure of 15 British sailors and marines, the Iranian consul in Basra charged that British soldiers on Thursday had surrounded his office in the southern city and fired shots into the air. Britain denied the allegation.

The Ministry of Defense in London said the shooting was an exchange of gunfire after British troops on a foot patrol near the Iranian consulate were ambushed.

But Iranian Consul-General Mohammed Ridha Nasir Baghban said British forces had engaged in a "provocative act" that "could worsen the situation of the British sailors."

"British forces should rely on wisdom and not react because of the British forces' detention. This reflects negatively on bilateral relations," Baghban told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Baghban claimed British forces surrounded the consulate about 10:00 a.m. and fired randomly into the air.