Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 2 (ANI): Following the protests by Shia Muslims across India over the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, General Secretary of All India Shia Personal Law Board Maulana Yasoob Abbas on Monday declared that businesses would remain closed and black flags would be hoisted to mourn his death.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the February 28 US-Israel strikes, alongside his daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law.

Speaking to ANI, Abbas said, 'All businesses will remain closed for three days. Black flags will be hoisted on people's homes. Gatherings to mourn his death will be held.'

A day earlier, in the capital of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, members of the Shia community gathered at the Chhota Imambara to pay tribute to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

During the gathering, Shia cleric Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawad declared that the people of Iran will never bow down, and that Israel and America will be defeated.

In Aligarh, students at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) held a protest in the form of a candle march to condemn the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader. During the demonstration, the protesters collectively performed funeral prayers for Khamenei.

Maulana Bahlol Raza stated that the protest serves as a message to the world that they will continue to raise their voices for the oppressed.

'This is a message for all that wherever the oppressed are killed, we will raise our voice for them... Khamenei has been killed, but after him, thousands of Khameneis have been born today,' Raza told reporters.

Besides Aligarh, the members of the All India Shia community in Ayodhya held a candle march to express profound grief and sadness over the death of the Iranian leader. The participants in the gathering demanded justice and voiced their unwavering support for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while expressing hope for swift vengeance against the perpetrators of the attack.

Members of the Shia community also staged a protest in Jammu following the death of the Iranian Supreme Leader and expressed their grief and anger over the killing.

Meanwhile, Iran has declared 40 days of public mourning following the death of their Supreme Leader.

Ayatollah Khamenei succeeded the Revolution's founder, Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989, and his tenure was marked by consistent opposition to Western influence. (ANI)