MOSCOW, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Russia's foreign ministry said on Friday a raid by U.S. troops on an Iranian government office in northern Iraq was unacceptable and a violation of international rules. "It is absolutely unacceptable for troops to storm the consular offices of a foreign state on the territory of another state," the ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site www.mid.ru. "This is a flagrant violation of the Vienna convention on consular relations. It is also not clear how this fits in with American statements that Washington respects the sovereignty of Iraq," it said. U.S. forces were on Friday holding five Iranians they detained during the raid on the Iranian liaison office in the city of Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdish north. Iran and U.S. officials say the office did not have formal diplomatic status. The United States accuses Tehran of backing Shi'ite militias in Iraq and fomenting violence there.
