At least 22 people have died in Pakistan following pro-Iran protests triggered by the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, in US-Israeli strikes. Hundreds of demonstrators marched on the US consulate in Karachi, entering the reception hall and starting a small fire. Security forces opened fire, killing ten and injuring more than 30 others, according to a local medical official.
Violence in other parts of Pakistan left ten dead in Gilgit-Baltistan and two in Islamabad. In Iraq, security forces fired teargas as hundreds of pro-Iran protesters attempted to storm the US embassy in Baghdad's Green Zone. The protests come after US-Israeli strikes targeted Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq.
Khamenei, 86, had been Iran's head of state for 36 years and oversaw the creation of a network of Iranian-backed militias across the region. Iran-aligned groups including Hamas, the Houthis, Iraqi militias and Hezbollah issued statements of condolence, praising him as a martyr and religious warrior.
In Lebanon, tens of thousands of Hezbollah supporters and Shia Muslims gathered in Beirut's southern suburbs to mourn Khamenei. In Yemen, pro-Houthi media reported a 'million-person march' in support of Iran. However, in Syria, where Iran backed Bashar al-Assad until his overthrow in 2024, some celebrated the news.
Government reactions across the Middle East have been muted, with most foreign ministries declining to comment on the assassination of a sitting head of state. The transcript of a call between the foreign ministers of Oman and Iran made no mention of Khamenei's killing.
