Pakistani Shiites rally to denounce US-Israeli strikes on Iran as US Embassy issues a security alert

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Hundreds of minority Shiites rallied Friday in Pakistan’s capital and elsewhere in the country to denounce the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S.-Israeli strikes, as the U.S. Embassy In Islamabad issued a security alert warning Americans of possible violence.

Amid heavy police presence, about 300 protesters staged a sit-in in Islamabad, holding posters of Khamenei and chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” Islamabad police had parked shipping containers on roads leading to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad to prevent any potential escalation.

Pakistani authorities said the protesters had agreed not to march toward the embassy in Islamabad, located about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the sit-in. The protesters planned to end their sit-in later Friday.

Khamenei, who ruled Iran since 1989, has long been a central religious and political figure for Shiites worldwide, including in Pakistan. His death in a joint U.S.-Israeli operation at the start of the war last week sparked outrage among many Shiites.

Security was also been beefed up in the port city of Karachi, where hundreds of Shiites stormed the U.S. Consulate on Sunday, smashing windows and attempting to set the building on fire. Police used batons, tear gas, and live fire to disperse the crowd. The violence left 10 protesters dead in Karachi, and at least 13 were killed in northern cities, including Skardu and Gilgit.

In Karachi, Shiite protesters gathered on Friday some 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the consulate.

Separately, smaller groups of Sunni protesters also rallied in Islamabad and Karachi on Friday against the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. The protests were held far from the U.S. diplomatic missions. No violence was reported.

In a security alert ahead of the demonstrations, the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad urged Americans in the country to limit their movement outside. Also, an updated advisory warned U.S. citizens against travel to Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir due to risks of “terrorism and kidnapping”.

Shiites make up roughly 15% of Pakistan’s population of about 250 million, the majority of whom are Sunni Muslims.

Shiite Muslims take part in a rally to condemn the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and against the Israeli strikes on Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Shiite Muslims take part in a rally to condemn the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and against the Israeli strikes on Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Shiite Muslim women and children take part in a rally to condemn the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and against the Israeli strikes on Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Shiite Muslims take part in a rally to condemn the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and against the Israeli strikes on Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Shiite Muslims walk over the representation of U.S. and Israeli flags with pictures of President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a rally to condemn the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and against the Israeli strikes on Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka began transferring more than 200 sailors from an Iranian vessel to shore Friday after the ship sought assistance while anchored outside the country’s waters, as tensions mounted in the Indian Ocean following the sinking of an Iranian warship by a U.S. submarine.

Sri Lankan navy spokesperson Cmdr. Buddhika Sampath said 204 sailors of the IRIS Bushehr were brought to the Welisara Naval Base near the capital, Colombo. They underwent border control procedures and medical tests, but none were found to have health issues.

About 15 others have been left aboard the ship with Sri Lankan naval personnel for assistance because they had reported a fault with the ship.

The Iranian sailors are interpreting operational instructions, manuals and logs for their Sri Lankan counterparts because the ship will be in Sri Lankan custody until further notice, Sampath said.

The ship will be taken to the port of Trincomalee in eastern Sri Lanka, Sampath said.

The Sri Lankan government took custody of the Bushehr after the U.S. sank an Iranian warship, the IRIS Dena, off Sri Lanka’s coast Wednesday. The strike marked one of the rare instances since World War II in which a submarine sank a surface warship, and highlighted the expanding scope of the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.

The Dena had participated in naval exercises hosted by India before heading into international waters on its way home. At least 74 countries had joined the events, according to India's Defense Ministry, including the U.S. Navy, which conducted reconnaissance aircraft and maritime patrol drills.

The Indian navy received a distress signal from the Dena but by the time it launched a search and rescue operation, the Sri Lankan navy had already begun its own rescue efforts, the ministry said.

The Sri Lankan navy rescued 32 sailors and recovered 87 bodies.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Dena had been carrying “almost 130” crew. The normal crew size for a warship of that class is 140.

Araghchi called the sinking an “atrocity at sea” and said the US would “bitterly regret” the attack.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said late Thursday that authorities decided to take control of the IRIS Bushehr after discussions with Iranian officials and the ship’s captain, after one of its engines failed.

“We have to understand that this is not an ordinary situation. It’s a request by a ship belonging to one party to enter into our port. We have to consider that according to the international treaties and conventions,” he told journalists Thursday night.

Separately on Friday, he wrote on X: “No civilian should die in wars. Our approach is that every single life is as precious as our own.”

The IRIS Bushehr had been described in previous Iranian media reports as a navy logistics ship equipped with a helicopter pad.

Dissanayake said Sri Lanka was guided by neutrality while seeking to uphold humanitarian principles.

“We have followed a very clear stance. We will not be biased to any state nor we will be submissive to any state,” he said.

The broadening Middle East conflict is putting strategically located Sri Lanka in a delicate position as it tries to balance humanitarian obligations, international maritime law and its longstanding policy of non-alignment.

H.M.G.S. Palihakkara, Sri Lanka’s retired former foreign secretary who also served as its permanent representative to the United Nations, said the country had acted responsibly and impartially.

“There has been a distress call from the ship. So naturally Sri Lanka, as a party to the Law of Sea and The Hague Convention, had no option but to do what it did by mounting a humanitarian operation to provide assistance to save lives and provide medical care to the affected,” he said.

Palihakkara said parties to the conflict would understand that Sri Lanka was not taking sides.

“You could not have ignored the distress call. Even the attacking powers cannot leave shipwrecked sailors dying. That is the law,” Palihakkara said.

Katsuya Yamamoto, director of the Strategy and Deterrence Program at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Tokyo, said Sri Lanka, which is not at war with either the U.S. or Iran, is considered a neutral state. As such, the Bushehr can enter a Sri Lankan port if granted permission by the government, he said.

Yamamoto said that once the vessel is docked, it falls under Iranian jurisdiction, leaving Sri Lankan authorities without legal grounds to inspect it unless Colombo decides to side with the U.S.

Australia’s government confirmed on Friday that three Australians were aboard the submarine that sank the IRIS Dena. The Australians were there as part of the trilateral U.S., Australian and British training program under the AUKUS security pact.

The Australian government has maintained it was not warned that the U.S and Israel planned to attack Iran. Australia has not commented on the legality of the attack, but supports the objective of preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons.

Neil James, executive director of the Australian Defense Association policy think tank, said it is “reasonably rare” for Australians embedded with another nation’s military to go to war against a country such as Iran that Australia wasn’t at war with.

He said an Australian would not have fired the torpedo that sank the Iranian ship

“The Australians wouldn’t have a job where they had to push the button on the torpedo because the captain of the boat gives the order and someone else, perhaps the weapons officer, presses the button but they’re not going to be Australian,” James said.

Saaliq reported from New Delhi and McGuirk reported from Melbourne, Australia. Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed from Tokyo, Japan.

Iranian warship IRIS Dena is seen in the Bay of Bengal during International Fleet Review held at Visakhapatnam, India, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo)

Iranian sailors, wearing t-shirts, who were rescued from IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka's navy, are escorted to a Judicial Medical Officer from the National Hospital, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Two Iranian sailors, center, who were rescued from IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka's navy are escorted to a Judicial Medical Officer from the National Hospital, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Two Iranian sailors, carrying green bags, who were rescued from IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka's navy are escorted to a Judicial Medical Officer from the National Hospital, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)