Iran says Bahrain has crossed line by stripping Shia cleric of citizenship
Source: The Guardian
Revolutionary Guards commander says Manamas move against Ayatollah Isa Qassim will trigger armed resistance
Bahrain has stripped the spiritual leader of the kingdoms Shia Muslim majority of his citizenship, resulting in protests outside his home and furious threats by neighbouring Iran over the escalating repression.
The move against Ayatollah Isa Qassim comes less than a week after a court banned the countrys main opposition group, al-Wefaq, accusing it of fomenting sectarian unrest and having links to a foreign power a clear reference to Iran, which is a fierce critic of Bahrains Sunni monarchy.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Gen Qassem Suleimani told Manama that it had crossed a red line by putting pressure on Qassim and that the move would trigger armed resistance, the Fars news agency reported.
Al-Khalifa (the rulers of Bahrain) will definitely pay the price for that and their bloodthirsty regime will be toppled, warned Suleimani, who heads the Guards elite Quds force and is seen as the ruthless face of Irans strategic reach across the Middle East.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/20/bahrain-strips-influential-shia-cleric-isa-qassim-citizenship
That's worryingly threatening.