The leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) in the European Parliament (EP), Graham Watson, condemned the raid by US occupation forces on the Iranian consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil Thursday.

“If an American consulate were stormed by a foreign power, there would be a public outcry. The US attack on the Iranian consulate in Arbil, Iraq, is an unjustifiable provocation in an increasingly tense region,” said Watson in a statement to IRNA.

“This raid raises questions about President Bush’s new strategy on Iraq and the mission of the newly beefed-up American military presence in this country. Iraqi’s stability and security should not be used as cover for hostility against other nations”, he added.

ALDE is the third-largest political group in the 732-member EP.