Protests break out in Pakistan, Iraq over Khamenei’s death; 21 confirmed dead in Karachi

Pakistani Shiite Muslims hold placards to condemn the US-Israel attack on Iran during a protest in Karachi on February 28, 2026. (FILE/AFP)
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Updated 01 March 2026
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Protests break out in Pakistan, Iraq over Khamenei’s death; 21 confirmed dead in Karachi

  • Police say hundreds of people have stormed the US Consulate in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi
  • Pro-Iranian protesters also gathered outside the Green Zone in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, where the US Embassy is located

KARACHI: Pakistani police on Sunday clashed with protesters who breached the outer wall of the US ​consulate in Karachi, leaving at least 21 people dead, following news of US and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Pro-Iranian protesters also gathered outside the Green Zone in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, where the US Embassy is located. Videos from the scene show police repelling the protestors with tear gas as they tried to breach the heavily fortified area. 
Pakistan and then Iraq have the largest Shiite Muslim populations after Iran.
In Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi, protesters had been pushed back ‌from the ‌consulate, a spokesman for the local government ​said, ‌after ⁠they ​set a ⁠vehicle ablaze outside the main gate and clashed with police.
At least 21 people were killed in those clashes, officials said.
Reuters reporters heard sounds of gunfire and saw teargas being fired in streets around the compound. Video footage showed a fire beneath a nearby bridge.
No casualties were reported in the street clashes.
The US Consulate ⁠in Karachi and the US Embassy Islamabad Press Office ‌did not respond to requests ‌for comment.
Large protests also occurred in ​other parts of Pakistan.
Protesters set ‌fire to a United Nations office building in the northern ‌city of Skardu, in the normally peaceful Shiite-majority Gilgit Baltistan region known for its Himalayan peaks popular with tourists.
“A large number of protesters have gathered outside the UN office in GB and burned down the building,” ‌local government spokesperson Shabbir Mir told Reuters, adding no casualties had been reported.
Earlier in the day in ⁠the central ⁠city of Lahore, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the US consulate. There were some small-scale clashes with police but no reports of violence.
“Some of the protesters tried to damage the security gate, hundreds of yards away from the Consulate. However, police stopped them without use of force,” Aqeel Raza, an eyewitness, told Reuters.
In the capital Islamabad, all roads leading to the red zone, which houses diplomatic missions and parliament, were blocked for traffic or any other public movement, police said.


Lebanon says Israeli attacks kill nearly 300 since Monday

Updated 5 sec ago
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Lebanon says Israeli attacks kill nearly 300 since Monday

  • The ministry said that “the death toll from the Israeli aggression, from dawn on Monday... has risen to 294“

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s health ministry on Saturday said Israeli attacks on the country had killed almost 300 people since the start of the war with Hezbollah this week.
In a statement, the ministry said that “the death toll from the Israeli aggression, from dawn on Monday... has risen to 294 martyrs and 1,023 wounded.”