Tehran, March 16: A senior Iranian cleric slams the invasion of Bahrain by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, warning leaders of regional Arab countries against escalation of violence in the Persian Gulf state.
“The awakening and Islamic movement of people who are under the yoke of anti-Islam and arrogant governments and their (the people’s) loss of patience, particularly in Arab countries, are among very important events in modern history,” said Grand Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi-Golpaygani in a statement on Wednesday.
The statement added, “The freedom-seeking effort, which started in Tunisia, rapidly spread to the entire region and Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Bahrain were influenced by this anti-arrogance Islamic move.”
The Grand Ayatollah also condemned crimes committed by Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and the Al-Khalifa family in Bahrain and emphasized that the US has utilized the military forces of Bahrain’s neighboring states to crackdown on the popular uprising in the country.
The cleric posed a question to Saudi rulers that claim to be an advocate for all Muslims, saying, “When will your century-long close cooperation with colonialist powers, including the United States and Britain end?”
Ayatollah Golpaygani added in his statement that Muslims of all parts the world have enhanced their resolve to expel foreign forces from their lands.
On Monday, a Saudi official said that more than 1,000 troops, part of the Peninsula Shield Force, had entered Bahrain with the aim of quelling the escalating anti-government protests at the request of the Bahraini government.
The Manama government is continuing its military crackdown on anti-government protesters that demand an end to the decades-long rule of the Al-Khalifa family.
Several people have lost their lives and hundreds of others have sustained injuries following the Bahraini government’s violent crackdown on demonstrators.
On Tuesday, six people died and more than 1,000 others were injured in clashes between anti-regime protesters and Bahraini security forces.
—–Agencies