Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, a veteran Iraqi cleric who is one of the preeminent authorities in Shi'ite Islam, condemned attacks against Iran and called any killings of its leaders "criminal".
The top cleric "once again strongly condemned the continued military aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as any threats of assassination targeting the country's top religious and political leadership," his office said in a statement.
"He firmly warned that any such criminal acts — in addition to being blatant violations of religious and moral principles and a clear breach of international norms and laws — would have extremely grave consequences for the entire region," it added.
"It could potentially lead to a complete loss of control over the situation and trigger widespread chaos, further deepening the suffering of the region's peoples and severely endangering the interests of all."
