Iraq Declares Three Days of State Mourning Following Assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

The news was confirmed on Sunday (March 1) in a report by the Qatar-based media outlet Al Jazeera. In a statement issued to the national news agency, Iraqi government spokesperson Bassem al-Awadi expressed that the government and the people of Iraq stand firmly with their Iranian brothers and the entire Muslim Ummah during this difficult time.

Hailing Khamenei as a great scholar and mujahid, al-Awadi described the assassination as a flagrant violation of international law and all humanitarian standards. The Iraqi government formally condemned the military operation, labeling it an act of "open aggression" and a "reprehensible deed."

The death of the Supreme Leader followed a devastating joint military campaign by Israel and the United States that began on Saturday, causing irreparable loss to Iran. While the news was confirmed early Sunday morning by Iranian news agencies Tasnim and Fars News, the Iranian government had already declared 40 days of national mourning and a seven-day public holiday. Iraq has now officially joined in this observance by announcing its own three-day mourning period.