At least 22 people died Sunday as violent protests erupted across Pakistan and Iraq following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S.-Israeli strikes, with the bloodiest clashes occurring when demonstrators attempted to storm the American consulate in Karachi.
Security forces opened fire on protesters in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 50 others as crowds smashed windows at the consulate, torched a nearby police post, and briefly breached the building’s perimeter. The violent confrontation in the southern port city accounted for nearly half of the day’s total casualties.
Summaiya Syed Tariq, a police surgeon at Karachi’s main government hospital, confirmed that six bodies arrived at the facility initially, with four more critically wounded people dying later. Senior police official Irfan Baloch said protesters briefly attacked the consulate’s outer perimeter before security forces dispersed them, though he dismissed reports that any part of the building was set on fire.
The protests spread throughout Pakistan, a nation where Shiite Muslims comprise roughly 15 to 20 percent of the 250 million population. In the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, at least 12 people died in clashes with police, according to local officials. Demonstrators there attacked offices of the U.N. Military Observer Group and the U.N. Development Programme, set fire to police facilities, and damaged local charity offices before authorities deployed troops and imposed a curfew.
Two more people died in clashes in Islamabad, where police fired tear gas and live rounds as thousands of protesters attempted to march toward the U.S. Embassy. Authorities closed all access roads to the Red Zone, the secured diplomatic enclave housing foreign embassies and government headquarters.
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed condolences to Iran following Khamenei’s death. “Pakistan stands with the Iranian nation in this moment of grief and shares in their loss,” Zardari said in a statement from his office.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi issued an appeal for calm while acknowledging the widespread grief, urging citizens not to take the law into their own hands and to record their protest peacefully. He called it a day of mourning for the Muslim Ummah and for the people of both Iran and Pakistan.
The 86-year-old Khamenei served as Iran’s Supreme Leader for nearly 37 years—the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East—and oversaw the creation of a network of Iranian-backed militias across the region. His death sent shockwaves through the Islamic world, particularly among Shiite communities who viewed him as a spiritual leader.
In Iraq, security forces fired teargas at hundreds of pro-Iran protesters who waved flags, threw stones, and attempted to storm Baghdad’s Green Zone, which houses the U.S. embassy. The violence followed U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Khamenei and targeted Iran-backed armed groups across the region.
Thousands of protesters also gathered in Lahore and Peshawar, where police used tear gas and batons to prevent crowds from reaching U.S. consulates. In Multan, a city in Punjab province, demonstrators held a peaceful rally denouncing the United States and Israel. Mamoona Sherazi, who attended the rally, told reporters: “God willing, we will never bow before America and Israel.”
The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said it was monitoring reports of ongoing demonstrations at consulates in Karachi and Lahore, as well as planned protests at the embassy in Islamabad and the consulate in Peshawar. The embassy advised American citizens to monitor local news, avoid large crowds, and stay aware of their surroundings.
Pakistan’s government stepped up security around the U.S. Embassy and consulates across the country in response to the unrest. Sindh Province Interior Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar warned that authorities would not tolerate lawlessness, urging citizens to express their views peacefully.
Beyond Pakistan and Iraq, the killing triggered reactions across the Middle East. Tens of thousands of Hezbollah supporters and Shiite Muslims gathered in southern Beirut to mourn Khamenei, waving flags and carrying pictures of the late Iranian leader. Pro-Houthi media in Yemen claimed a million-person march in Sanaa supporting Iran.
Iran-aligned groups including Hamas, the Houthis, Iraqi militias, and Hezbollah issued statements of condolence. Naim Qassem, secretary general of Hezbollah, praised Khamenei’s leadership of what Tehran called an “axis of resistance” against American and Israeli forces in the region.
Khamenei’s death comes less than 18 months after Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a September 2024 airstrike on Beirut, representing a major blow to Iranian influence across the Middle East and another symbolic wound for Shiite Muslims who viewed both men as icons of resistance.