TEHRAN- Last week, the Israeli right-wing Channel 14, closely aligned with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, published a photo of Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani as a potential assassination target.

Ayatollah al-Sistani has held the position of Iraq’s highest religious authority for decades. The Israeli threats to his life have been met with strong condemnation and warnings at government levels and across Iraq. 

Activists were among the first to respond on social media just hours after the threat was published, calling on the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to make its position clear. 

As did other Iraqi resistance factions that have fought Daesh and American occupation. 

President Abdul Latif Rashid’s office condemned such “audacity” toward the Grand Ayatollah. 

An official government statement said: “After the Zionist regime entered the war of genocide, committing disgraceful crimes against humanity, and clear massacres and aggression in Gaza and Lebanon, it has now turned to its racist media, which seeks to damage the position and reputation of the religious authority.” 

The Iraqi government warned of the danger that this will pose, saying, “It is clear that these actions are based on a racist mindset and foundations that encourage disregard for the sanctities of people, posing a real threat to international peace and security.” 

It added: "The Zionist regime once again proves to be nothing more than a group of criminals who thrive on crises, fueling aggression and wars.”

Acting Parliament Speaker Mohsen Al-Mandalawi warned, “This is part of a series of the usurper’s crimes and their sinister plots to target Muslim symbols and sanctities.”

Mandalawi added that this racist regime, whose crimes have been ignored by most countries worldwide, is dragging the region toward a doctrinal conflict, serving its extremist agendas and plans. 

Senior Iraqi scholar Ayatollah Modarresi emphasized, “One of the duties of Muslim youth today is to defend the sanctities, scholars, and leaders against any aggression and misuse by the enemies of Islam and Muslims.” He noted that this attack targets the entire nation and should not be overlooked, as silence would only pave the way for the enemy to commit even more heinous acts.

In televised remarks, the head of the Sunni Scholars Group of Iraq, Sheikh Khalid Al-Mulla, stressed the “occupiers’ threats against Ayatollah al-Sistani and the leaders of the Axis of Resistance indicate that Israel is declaring a religious war against us, and the occupiers are trying to expand the war to cover up their failures and crimes in Gaza and Lebanon.”

He underlined that the occupiers are trying to make the war appear as if it is directed against a particular sect.

The Islamic Daw’a Party of Iraq noted that Ayatollah al-Sistani’s “principled stances and role in maintaining peace and security in Iraq and stopping the bloodshed, is respected by Muslims in general and by Iraqis of all sects, ethnicities, and religions. Targeting him means targeting all Iraqis.”

Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim, leader of the National Wisdom Movement, said, “We strongly condemn the publication of a picture of Ayatollah al-Sistani by an Israeli channel, portraying him as one of the targets of this usurper regime.”

Ahmed al-Assadi, the minister of labor, said the ongoing battle between Islam and Zionism is real. 

“Muslim figures are red lines. The enemy’s media, through one of its extremist outlets, has placed the revered figure of Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in the bank of targets that this usurper regime seeks to assassinate because he has taken clear stances in confronting shared challenges concerning Muslim world affairs.”

Sheikh Qais al-Khazali, Secretary-General of the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq Movement, emphasized, “We believe usurper Zionist entity is too insignificant for this, but to prevent their illusions from going too far, they should know that the result of such reckless actions will be their downfall, along with all those who support them.”

Iraqi analyst Ahmed al-Wandi condemned the publication and strongly denounced the “Zionist media’s barbaric and shameful actions.”

Parliamentarian Hussein al-Battat said that the attack on Ayatollah al-Sistani is a dangerous development, saying “millions of Muslims and fighters stand behind him”. 

Sayyid Abbas al-Mousavi, a political analyst, underscored, “The Zionist regime’s media target of putting the highest religious authority’s picture on the list of assassinations carries multiple messages, including that in the battle led by Netanyahu, which involves the killing of innocent people and children, they seek to silence any opposition voice.”

Another political commentator, Ahmed al-Yasiri, noted the occupying regime is particularly sensitive to Ayatollah al-Sistani because his positions and statements regarding the Palestinian issue reflect the stance of the Najaf seminary.