"Bahrain rulers should avoid complicating the political situation in the country," Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi said in reaction to the Bahraini regime's apprehension of Sheikh Salman on Thursday.
The senior Iranian cleric condemned the Al Khalifa regime for arresting Sheikh Salman and called for the immediate release of the leader of Bahrain's Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society.
On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also voiced concern about Sheikh Salman detention and condition.
"Coercive confrontation with (Bahraini) people's respected leaders who have never ceased their peaceful manners in pursuing people's demands despite the political and security conditions in recent years will further complicate the situation and also increase dangers and threats," Zarif said.
The Iranian foreign minister called for the immediate release of the leader of Bahrain's Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society.
"The reaction shown by the international bodies and (world) religious authorities (to this issue) displays that he (Sheikh Salman) is highly-respected and his moderate behavior and Al-Wefaq Society have popular and international acceptability," Zarif said.
Sheikh Salman, who was arrested on Sunday, was remanded in custody on Tuesday for a week pending further questioning.
On Tuesday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called on Bahrain to release Sheikh Salman.
OHCHR Spokesperson Liz Throssell called for the immediate release of Sheikh Salman "as well as all other persons convicted or detained for merely exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and assembly".
Sheikh Salman is charged with "promoting regime change by force, threats, and illegal means and of insulting the Interior Ministry publicly", said Bahraini Prosecutor Nayef Mahmud.
The European Union also warned on Monday that the arrest of the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society’s leader by the Bahraini regime "carries the risk of jeopardizing an already difficult political and security situation."
Both the UN and the EU have urged that the only way out of Bahrain's current crisis is dialogue and national reconciliation.
Bahrain has been witnessing almost daily protests against the Al Khalifa dynasty since early 2011, when an uprising began in the kingdom. Since then, thousands of protesters have held numerous rallies in the streets of Bahrain, calling on the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.
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