‘Bahrain regime crosses Islam red lines’: Iranian official

Source :  Ahlul Bayt News Agency

An Iranian official has warned the Manama regime against the ramifications of a recent raid by Bahraini forces on prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Issa Qassem’s house.

“Certain entities in Bahrain’s government have crossed the red lines of the Islamic world Shi’ism, and if they fail to apologize for this inappropriate action, they should expect an unpredictable reaction,” said Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Saturday.

Plain-clothes Bahraini forces raided and searched Sheikh Issa Qassem’s house in the village of Duraz on Friday.

Women and children were in the house at the time of the raid, but the Sheikh was not at home.

The Iranian diplomat condemned the insulting act, noting that the issue is beyond Bahrain’s internal affairs and concerns the entire Muslim world.

Born in 1937, Sheikh Issa Qassem is often referred to as the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s main opposition party, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society.

The Bahraini revolution began in mid-February 2011, when the people, inspired by the popular revolutions that toppled the dictators of Tunisia and Egypt, started holding massive demonstrations.

The Bahraini government promptly launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests and called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring states.

Dozens of people have been killed in the crackdown, and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including doctors and nurses accused of treating injured revolutionaries.