Iran warns Bahrain on revoking citizenship of Shiite cleric

Iran on Monday warned Bahrain of consequences after the latter revoked citizenship of a top Shiite cleric, Press TV reported.

It would set fire to Bahrain and the entire region, and "leave the people (of Bahrain) with no choice but armed resistance," Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) was quoted as saying.

Bahrain announced on Monday it had revoked the citizenship of the country's most powerful Shiite cleric, saying the move was part of measures to fight extremism.

Sheikh Isa Qassim, who was stripped of nationality, is the leader of the opposition group Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, the Bahraini Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The statement accused Isa Qassim of forming "groups that follow foreign religious ideologies and political entities" and of playing "a key role in fostering extremism and sectarianism in Bahrain."

This would result in the collapse of the "bloodthirsty regime," said Soleimani, adding that the regime is repressing its people while the United Nations, the U.S. and Western countries maintain their "meaningful silence."

Soleimani has left Iraq for Syria to oversee resistance operations as the fight with terrorists takes a violent turn recently, said a local report.

The Quds Force, also known as Qods, is a special unit of Iran's IRGC responsible for "extraterritorial" missions.

Iran, a major regional ally of Syrian and Iraqi governments in their fight against the militant groups, has repeatedly announced the presence of its military advisors in both countries. Endit