TEHRAN, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Iran has sent a formal note to the British embassy in Tehran to protest against the Britain's shooting to its consulate in Iraq, the official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday.

    Following the incident of shooting to Iran's consulate in the Iraqi city of Basra last Thursday, the note of protest was given to British embassy in Tehran, an unidentified official was quoted as saying.

    According to Foreign Ministry's media department, the note said that Iran had asked Britain to prevent such actions in the future and respect international laws regarding diplomatic buildings.

    The note was also given to Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York to be registered as an official document of the UN.

    On Thursday, Iran accused British forces of launching "provoking action" against its consulate in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

    The British forces in their automobiles entered the area in Basra where Iran's consulate is located and started to patrol around the building, said a statement by Iran's Foreign Ministry, adding that they besieged the consulate for one hour and twenty minutes.

    The British troops increased the number of their forces and started to shoot at the building of the consulate. The shooting lasted twenty minutes but no one was injured, the statement said.

    The incident came after 15 British naval personnel were seized by Iranian forces on March 23 when they were patrolling off the Iraqi borders.

    Iran has insisted that the British boats made a blatant "incursion" into Iranian territorial waters. However, Britain said its soldiers were engaged in routine boarding operations in Iraqi territorial waters.