Pro-Iranian demonstrators have gathered at U.S. embassies throughout the Middle East, reacting to the reported death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

On Sunday morning, videos captured scenes of protesters encircling U.S. Embassies in Baghdad, Iraq, and Karachi, Pakistan, as tensions escalated.

Chants echoed through the crowds, with participants waving Iranian flags and holding images of the Ayatollah. Some demonstrators attempted to breach the embassy buildings, using battering rams against doors and windows.

In Karachi, Pakistan, violent confrontations broke out between protesters and security personnel when attempts were made to overrun the U.S. Consulate. The clashes resulted in at least 10 fatalities and left over 50 people injured.

Elsewhere in the country, thousands of Shiite protesters, incensed by U.S. and Israeli actions against Iran, attacked the facilities of the United Nations Military Observer Group and the UN Development Program (UNDP).

Both U.S. Embassies in Iraq and Pakistan are closely monitoring the situation, advising American citizens to remain vigilant, avoid large gatherings, and ensure their travel information with the U.S. government is current.

Embassy officials in Iraq said authorities are monitoring active threats to American interests in the country, including restaurants, businesses, and individuals.  

Pro-Iranian protesters have swarmed American embassies across the Middle East in response to the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

The US military has released footage showing the equipment that was being used in US-Israeli airstrikes against Iran in Operation Epic Fury

A vehicle is engulfed in flames as protesters clash with security forces near the US consulate in Karachi, Pakistan on Sunday

Anti-American demonstrations are currently taking place on the southern bank of the July 14 Bridge in Baghdad, the Embassy warned in a post on X.

There are also additional calls to protest across various parts of the country.

‘US citizens should exercise caution, stay aware of their surroundings, and avoid large gatherings, as demonstrations may turn violent,’ the US Embassy in Iraq warned.

‘The security situation remains complex and can change quickly.’

Consular services for American citizens in Iraq have been temporarily suspended and the US Department of State has issued a Level 4 ‘Do Not Travel’ advisory.

The US Embassy in Baghdad and the Consulate General in Erbil will remain open, with movement restricted to ‘mission-essential operations only,’ officials added.

Shiite Muslims set a fire at the entrance gate to the US Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan during a Sunday rally to condemn the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Pakistani security forces fire tear gas shells to disperse protesters during a demonstration near the US consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan on Sunday

Demonstrators were seen chanting and waving the Iranian flag and posters of Ayatollah outside the embassies in Iraq and Pakistan on Sunday

Some protesters tried to break into the embassies using battering rams, footage showed

The US Embassy in Pakistan is also monitoring reports of ongoing demonstrations at the US Consulates General in Karachi and Lahore, as well as calls for additional protests at the US Embassy in Islamabad and the Consulate General in Peshawar. 

Protesters repeatedly clashed with police at various places in the region, damaged the offices of a local charity, and set fire to police offices. Authorities have deployed troops and brought the situation under control, a government official said.

In Karachi, which is the capital of southern Sindh province and Pakistan’s largest city, senior police official Irfan Baloch said that protesters briefly attacked the perimeter of the US Consulate, but were later dispersed.

He dismissed as baseless reports that any part of the consulate building was set on fire. However, he said that protesters torched a nearby police post and smashed windows of the consulate before security forces arrived and regained control.

Witnesses said that dozens of Shiite protesters remained gathered about a half-mile from the consulate, urging others to join them. 

They said one of the protesters had tried to burn a window of the consulate, before security forces arrived there and dispersed the demonstrators.

The violence came after the US and Israel attacked Iran, killing Ayatollah. The clashes have prompted Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to issue an appeal for calm.

A police officer fires a teargas shell to disperse a protest in Karachi, Pakistan on Sunday

People march in the streets of Baghdad’s Sadr City on Sunday after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in Israeli and US strikes

Shiite mourners carry portraits of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a symbolic funeral procession in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday

Tearful woman march through Sadr City with the Iranian flag and portraits of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after he was killed on Sunday

‘Following the martyrdom of Ayatollah Khamenei, every citizen of Pakistan shares in the grief of the people of Iran,’ Naqvi said in a statement. 

He described it as ‘a day of mourning for the Muslim Ummah and for the people of both Iran and Pakistan,’ but urged people not to take the law into their own hands and to express their protests peacefully.

The provincial government of Sindh in a statement also urged citizens to express their views peacefully and warned against engaging in violence.

Protests in the area surrounding the US Consulate in Karachi went on for hours, with dozens of Shiite youth, some covering their faces, throwing stones at law enforcement officials and vowing to reach the consulate, where hundreds of police and paramilitary Rangers have been deployed.

In Islamabad, police fired tear gas and swung batons as hundreds of Shiite protesters, angered by the killing of Khamenei, tried to march toward the US Embassy. 

The clashes took place outside the Diplomatic Enclave, where the embassy is located and additional police had been deployed.

Meanwhile, in the northwestern city of Peshawar, authorities also used tear gas and batons to disperse thousands of demonstrators attempting to approach the US Consulate to hold a rally to denounce the killing of the Iranian leader, police said.

US Central Command and its partner forces began striking targets at 1:15 am ET to dismantle the Iranian regime’s security apparatus, prioritizing locations that posed an imminent threat

Targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields, officials said

Shiites also held a peaceful rally in Multan, a city in Punjab province, chanting slogans against Israel and the United States.

Shiites also held a rally and clashes with police repeatedly near the US Consulate in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province, police said. 

Rallies against Israel and the US were also planned in northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. Authorities said that the government has stepped up security around the Embassy in the capital, and consulates across the country to avoid any further violence.