Iran vows ‘collapse of bloodthirsty regime’ after Bahrain strips top Shia cleric of nationalityFootball icon David Beckham backs Remain with isolation warning – zakaria.virk@gmail.com – Gmail

Iran has promised Bahrain will “pay the price” after the Sunni monarchy stripped a top Shia cleric of his nationality. The stark warning has come after Bahrain revoked the citizenship of Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, who is widely seen as the spiritual voice of the Shia majority.

Bahrain’s interior ministry accused the cleric of creating an “extremist” atmosphere in the country to divide the society on sectarian lines. The ministry’s statement, carried by the Bahrain News Agency, read: “Through his [preaching] and ‘fatwas’ he exploited the religious pulpit for political purposes to serve foreign interests. He also encouraged sectarianism and violence.” In a thinly veiled reference to Shia-inclined Iran, the ministry said that the cleric was using his position to serve “foreign interests”. It is still not clear whether Qassim would be forced to leave Bahrain.
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Shortly after the announcement, thousands of Shia supporters gathered outside the cleric’s house in a show of strength against the kingdom. The move has also come just a week after the Bahraini regime outlawed the main opposition group, al-Wefaq, for similar reasons of assisting foreign powers.

Iran, the Shia powerhouse in the region and a fierce critic of the Bahraini monarchy, has been in a bitter spat with other Sunni-ruled states in the recent past. The animosity rose sharply after Saudi Arabia, another regional heavyweight dominated by the Sunnis, engaged in a diplomatic tussle with Tehran.