Sistani warns war ‘portends grave consequences’ as he calls for immediate halt

NAJAF — Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani warned Wednesday that the ongoing war between the United States, Israel and Iran “portends grave consequences” at the regional and international levels, calling for its immediate halt.

In a statement from his office, Sistani said the military campaign against Iran had resulted in “the martyrdom of large numbers of citizens, including many heroes defending their country and dozens of children and other innocent civilians,” as well as extensive damage to property. He said counter-operations had “expanded, as expected, to include a number of other countries.”

Sistani warned that launching “a comprehensive war” against a U.N. member state without Security Council approval, with the aim of imposing conditions or toppling its political system, “constitutes a very dangerous precedent” that could lead to “widespread chaos and prolonged unrest that would bring calamities to the peoples of the region.”

The religious authority “strongly condemns this unjust war” and renewed his appeal to the international community and Islamic countries to “exert their utmost efforts to stop it immediately and to find a fair and peaceful solution to the Iranian nuclear file in accordance with international law.”