A leading Iranian general has warned Bahrain it is fanning armed rebellion and “will pay the price” after a crackdown on its Shia majority saw the community’s spiritual leader stripped of his nationality.
The warning from General Qassem Suleimani, head of the elite Revolutionary Guards’ overseas operations arm, the Quds Force, came after Washington too strongly criticised the move by its Gulf Arab ally.
“Surely they know that the aggression against Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim is a red line... That will leave no option for the people but to resort to armed resistance,” Suleimani told State media on Monday.
Bahrain’s rulers “will pay the price and it will have no result but the destruction of this bloodthirsty regime,” he added. It was a rare public pronouncement from Suleimani.