UNITED NATIONS (IRNA) – On Saturday, Iran presented a protest letter to the UN Security Council and General Assembly about the British attack on Iranian Consulate General in Basra, southern Iraq.

The letter was delivered to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon by Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s ambassador to United Nations.

"Upon instructions from my Government, I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy of the Note Verbal, and its unofficial English translation, dated 30 March 2007, addressed to the British Embassy in Tehran by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, regarding the illegal act of firing shots by the British military forces at the Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Basra," Zarif said in his letter.

"According to the information received from relevant authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on March 29, 2007, at 10:30 am, the British military forces, in four armored vehicles and with full military equipment, approached the premises of the consulate general of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Basra and fired shots at the building for more than ten minutes.

The forces left the area at 11:45 am. This was the third time that the British military forces approached the Iranian consulate general in Basra and the first time they fired shots at the building, in the course of the past month," the letter added.