Security forces remained on high alert at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk on Friday as a precautionary measure after protests by members of the Shia community over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Earlier this week, Shia Muslims held peaceful demonstrations in Srinagar, mourning Khamenei’s death and condemning the US-Israel airstrikes carried out on February 28. Similar protests were reported from Bandipora, Ramban, Budgam and other areas of the Valley.
In Ramban, protesters raised slogans and burned an effigy of US President Donald Trump, while in Bandipora demonstrators carried portraits of the late cleric to express grief and anger over the incident.
Meanwhile, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri signed the condolence book at the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi on behalf of the Government of India and conveyed sympathies to Iran’s Ambassador Mohammad Fathali. The embassy also lowered its flag to half-mast following the death of Khamenei. The situation comes amid rising tensions in West Asia after joint US-Israel strikes in Iran triggered retaliatory drone and missile attacks by Tehran, escalating the conflict across the region.
