The fire started at the third floor of Al-Nasir Hotel, located in Najaf’s Old City quarter, which was accommodating Iranian pilgrims.
An official at Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization has told media that the two Iranian women were choked to death on the fumes, while another woman has been admitted to the hospital.
Initial reports said over a hundred pilgrims have suffered from smoke inhalation.
In December 2017, a similar incident in al-Qabtan Hotel in Najaf injured dozens of people, including several Iranian pilgrims.
Najaf, 140 km south of capital Baghdad, hosts the shrine of the first Shiite Imam, Imam Ali (PBUH), and is a popular pilgrimage destination for Iranians.