Several people were killed on Sunday, March 1, 2026, and more than 100 others were injured as violent demonstrations broke out across Pakistan and Iraq after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died in U.S.-Israeli strikes. The deadliest confrontations occurred when crowds tried to storm the American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan.
Security personnel opened fire on demonstrators in Karachi, the country’s largest city, killing at least 10 people and injuring more than 50 as protesters shattered consulate windows, burned a nearby police post, and briefly crossed the building’s outer boundary. The clash in the southern port city accounted for nearly half of all casualties that day.
Summaiya Syed Tariq, a police surgeon at Karachi’s main government hospital, reported that six bodies initially arrived, with four others dying later from critical injuries. Senior police official Irfan Baloch said protesters briefly struck the consulate’s outer perimeter before being dispersed, while denying claims that any part of the building had been set ablaze.
The unrest expanded nationwide in Pakistan, where Shiite Muslims make up roughly 15 to 20 percent of the 250 million population. In the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, possibly around 14 people were killed in clashes with security forces, according to local officials. (Different outlets cite varying figures.) Demonstrators there targeted offices of the U.N. Military Observer Group and the U.N. Development Programme, burned police facilities, and damaged local charity offices before troops were deployed and a curfew was imposed.
Two more people were killed in Islamabad as police used tear gas and live ammunition to stop thousands of protesters from advancing toward the U.S. Embassy. Authorities blocked all access roads to the Red Zone, the secure diplomatic district that hosts embassies and government offices.
President Asif Ali Zardari sent condolences to Iran following Khamenei’s death. “Pakistan stands with the Iranian nation in this moment of grief and shares in their loss,” he said in a statement released by his office.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi urged calm while acknowledging the deep mourning, asking citizens not to take the law into their own hands and to protest peacefully. He described the day as one of mourning for the Muslim Ummah and for the people of Iran and Pakistan.
The 86-year-old Khamenei had served nearly 37 years as Iran’s Supreme Leader—the longest tenure of any Middle Eastern head of state—and oversaw the rise of a network of Iran-backed militias across the region. His death sent shockwaves through the Islamic world, particularly among Shiite communities that saw him as a spiritual figure.
In Iraq, security forces fired tear gas at hundreds of pro-Iran demonstrators who waved flags, threw stones, and attempted to force their way into Baghdad’s Green Zone, where the U.S. Embassy is located. The unrest followed U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Khamenei and other leaders and targeted Iran-aligned armed groups across the region.
Thousands also took to the streets in Lahore and Peshawar, where police used tear gas and batons to stop crowds from reaching U.S. consulates. In Multan, a city in Punjab province, protesters held a peaceful demonstration condemning the United States and Israel. Mamoona Sherazi, one of the participants, said: “God willing, we will never bow before America and Israel.”
The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad stated it was monitoring reports of ongoing demonstrations at consulates in Karachi and Lahore, along with planned protests at the embassy in Islamabad and the consulate in Peshawar. It advised American citizens to follow local news, steer clear of large gatherings, and remain alert.
The Pakistani government increased security around the U.S. Embassy and consulates nationwide in response to the turmoil. Sindh Province Interior Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar warned that authorities would not tolerate disorder, urging citizens to express their opinions peacefully.
Reactions spread throughout the Middle East as well. Tens of thousands of Hezbollah supporters and Shiite Muslims gathered in southern Beirut to mourn Khamenei, holding flags and photos of the late leader. Pro-Houthi media outlets in Yemen claimed that a million people marched in Sanaa in support of Iran.
Iran-affiliated groups, including Hamas, the Houthis, Iraqi militias, and Hezbollah, released messages of condolence. Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s secretary general, praised Khamenei for leading what Tehran describes as an “axis of resistance” against U.S. 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, dealing a significant blow to Iranian influence in the Middle East and marking another symbolic loss for Shiite Muslims who regarded both men as icons of resistance.
