Iran condemns revoking Bahraini Shiite cleric's citizenship

Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned on Monday Bahrain's move to strip the citizenship of the country's top Shiite cleric, Sheikh Isa Qassim, Press TV reported.

The ministry also condemned the Bahraini regime's "intensification of its security approach toward religious and national leaders, opposition to religious beliefs and principles, and misappropriation of religious assets and funds of the Bahraini people," according to the report.

It urged Bahraini kingdom to end "stopping its illegal behavior (towards the dissidents), avoiding the destruction of all the bridges for communication with the people and moderate leaders of the country by accepting the realities of the country and holding serious national dialog."

Crackdown on the peaceful demands of the people would dash any hope of reformation in Bahrain through dialogue and peaceful means, it said in a statement.

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

Sheikh Isa Qassim, the leader of the opposition group Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, was stripped of nationality, 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." Endit