Iran deplores raid on Bahraini cleric house

Iran on Sunday strongly condemned an attack by Bahraini regime forces on the house of the leading Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Sheikh Issa Ahmed Qassim. "We strongly condemn this deplorable move and stress that violence, intimidation and organized raid on people's houses does not accord with any logic and is against all moral, religious and human norms," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Araqchi said. He called on the Bahraini regime to comply with its responsibility for protecting the country's citizens and defending their rights, and stressed that staging raid on people's residence and insulting senior religious figures will produce no good results. Araqchi said that the solution to the current crisis in Bahrain lies in political options and respect for people's legitimate demands. The Bahraini forces raided Sheikh Issa Qassim's home in the village of Diraz on Friday and searched the house. Witnesses said the regime forces broke the doors of Sheikh Qassim's house and damaged his property. Women and children of the sheikh's family were in the house at the time of the raid, but the sheikh was not at home. Later, thousands of Bahraini protesters marched outside Manama to oppose the al-Khalifa security forces' attack. The protesters held pictures of their top religious leader during a protest against the ruling al-Khalifa regime.