Tehran Friday Prayer Lambasts Bahrain Al-Khalifa's Crackdown on Peaceful Protests

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Tehran's provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati condemned the Al-Khalifa regime for its brutal suppression of peaceful protests in Bahrain, and slammed Manama for its pressures and accusations against the senior Bahraini cleric, Sheikh Issa Qasim.    

Jannati noted the Bahraini regime's accusations against the country's Shiite cleric Sheikh Issa Qasim, and said Manama's mistreatment of the clergyman has provoked a wave of protests by clerics in Iraq, Iran and other Muslim nations.

"What crime has an old man, who defends the legal and religious rights of the people of Bahrain, committed?"

He further slammed the Al-Khalifa regime for the recent killing of a 14-year-old teenager during protests in the tiny Persian Gulf island.

Protests in Bahrain escalated after the 14-year old teenager died in the country after being hit by a tear gas canister fired by the security forces during anti-government protests.

Witnesses said that the victim, identified as Ali Jawad, was hit in the head by a tear gas canister fired from close range.

Iran strongly condemned the killing of the teenage protester by the Bahraini security forces, and called on Manama to meet the Bahraini people's legitimate demands.

"The martyrdom of a teenager in Bahrain on the day of the greatest Muslim celebration (Eid al-Fitr) cannot be justified by any means or logic," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said last Friday.

Elsewhere, Jannati blasted the Turkish government's decision to host a NATO radar system on its soil, regretting that such a move "was not expected from the Islamic Turkey".

He cautioned Turkey's agreement to the NATO plan would disrupt "security in the region," and cause new problems for the regional nations.

"Turkey wants to appease both Muslims and non-Muslims, but its agreement with the deployment of the (NATO) missile shield cannot be approved of," he said.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry revealed last Friday that negotiations with NATO chiefs over the "missile shield" had reached "their final stages."

Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Selcuk Unal said, "The early warning radar system allocated by the United States to NATO will be deployed in our country."

Unal said that the plan reflected the new strategic concept approved by the Western military alliance's leaders at a Lisbon summit last year.

The United States Defense Department subsequently announced that the radar system will be operational by the end of the year.

Tehran blasted the NATO plan for deploying the anti-ballistic missile system in Turkey, and said the missiles are planned to be used for aggression against the Islamic Republic and its interests.

Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said on Monday, "The West claims the radar system in Turkey is to confront Iranian missiles but it should be aware that we will not tolerate any aggression against our national interests."

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