Hundreds of protesters outside the consulate chanted slogans against an Iranian satellite station, accusing it of insulting a Shi’ite cleric in Iraq.
A cleric who addressed the crowd demanded an apology from the government in neighboring, mainly Shi’ite Iran.
“If our demand is not met we will not be able to hold back these angry crowds,” he told the demonstrators.
Thick smoke billowed near the consulate building in Iraq’s second city, which is patrolled by British forces.
A British military spokesman earlier said he had received reports from local emergency services that demonstrators “may have entered” the compound and that they were burning tires outside.
He added that the protesters since seemed to have pulled back from the building and that there were no reports of other violence.
