Iran on Friday demanded security for diplomatic buildings in Iraq, hours after a mob torched the Iranian Consulate in Basra.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi condemned the arson attack and called for the arrest of the perpetrators at the earliest.

One protester has died and 11 more were wounded during demonstrations, local security and health sources said.

Hundreds of protesters stormed and set fire to the Iranian consulate in Iraq's southern city of Basra on Friday, an AFP photographer said, as they vented their anger over poor public services. After the demonstrations intensified and the mission was set ablaze, Iran closed the Shalamjah border with Iran.

Thousands of demonstrators rallied outside the building while hundreds stormed into the consulate and set it ablaze, the photographer said.