Embassy investigates attack on Iraqi students in Iran

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s embassy in Tehran has sent a committee to investigate an attack on Iraqi students at their accommodation in Semnan, Ambassador Yasser Abdul Zahra said, a day after violence left several injured and forced their relocation.

The embassy received reports of a misunderstanding and a verbal altercation involving Iraqi students, followed by an assault, he said. The committee visited the accommodation immediately and the situation was brought under control with the relevant authorities. He said the embassy would provide protection and support, and urged Iraqi students in Iran to respect local social norms, exercise discipline and show mutual respect.

An account from inside the dormitory differs. A source there told 964media that two Iranian men described as heavily intoxicated tried to force their way into the building housing Iraqi students, and that after students removed them about 150 people gathered inside and around the building and attacked them. Several students were injured, belongings were damaged and windows smashed as students tried to hold the attackers off and shelter inside. The number and severity of injuries were not given.

Footage seen by 964media appears to showe crowds and physical assaults inside and outside the Nikan residential complex, and students trying to contact police before patrols arrived. Semnan University administrators and Iranian security personnel intervened and provided buses to move the students to a secure location. How long they will stay there is not clear.

In a statement circulated on Monday, Iraqi students at the university asked Iraq’s cultural attaché in Tehran to coordinate with the university and the authorities on their safety, and called for an official investigation, legal action against those responsible and measures to prevent further attacks.

The ambassador did not say whether anyone had been arrested or whether Iranian authorities had opened a criminal investigation.