Shafaq News/ After angry protesters burned the Iranian consulate in the Shiite capital of Najaf last night, the leaders of armed factions in the Popular Mobilization Forces warned from endangering the life of the supreme Shiite authority in Iraq, Ayat Ali al-Sistani.

The leader of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Qais al-Khazali, posted tweeted threatening those who want to threaten al- Sistani, saying: "Anyone who thinks he can touch al- Sistani is in a big illusion .. the sons of Marjiyaa won againt the darkest power in the field and we are ready for anyone who thinks of threatening him”.

An informed source told Shafaq News that al-Khazali went to Najaf immediately in conjunction with news that the old city was exposed to security risks.

He said that Khazali had decided to relocate his residence to Najaf after receiving reports that al- Sistani's house was in danger.

For his part, the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Forces, "Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes said in a brief statement," All brigades of the Popular Mobilization are now under the order of the Supreme Reference, and we will cut off the hand that is trying to approach Al-Sistani.

Sources said that the leader of the brigades "Sayed al-Shuhadaa", Abu Alaa Al-Wala'i issued a warning in a tweet like al-Khazali and went to Najaf.

While the writer and journalist , Ali Wajih strongly ruled out that the protesters would harm the religious reference, saying that "the demonstrators in Najaf may think everything but not touching the religious references."

He added that "the demonstration of Najaf is a disciplined , peaceful , conscious and cumulative since 2011, and no one  threaten al-Sistani, the shrine represents all Nujaifi people even non-religious of them."

Angry demonstrators stormed the Iranian consulate in Najaf late Wednesday and burned it, prompting a curfew in the province.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry condemned on Thursday the protesters burning the Iranian consulate in Najaf.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it "condemns in the strongest terms the attack on the consulate of Iran in Najaf by strangers who are far from the reality of the real demonstrations taking place in a number of our Iraqi cities, and we believe that its purpose is clear and is to harm the historical relations between Iraq and Iran, as well as with the rest of the world whose missions are in Iraq. "

"While we affirm that the demonstrations are a guaranteed right, and that the demands of the demonstrators were and are still acceptable to the government, we have always warned against the entry of people who want to divert demonstrations from the proper course of action. What has the Iranian consulate has faced is clear evidence of their agendas that are far from national demands”.

The statement called on the demonstrators to "take precautions against those suspects who want to discredit demonstrations calling for reform."

“Diplomatic missions operating in Iraq are highly respected and appreciated, and we emphasize that what happened is not an official point of view, and we affirm our commitment to our strategic bilateral relations, building on them to achieve the aspirations of our peoples,” the ministry said.