Bahraini Activists: Police Summons Five Shia Clerics

On Thursday, while the Iranian Foreign Minister described the political situation in Bahrain as "very regrettable" and "very dangerous," it was reported that Bahraini police officials have summoned five Shia clerics. Reuters reported on Thursday, July 3, citing Bahraini political activists, that these five Shia clerics were summoned to a police station in western Manama, the capital of Bahrain. The news agency links the summoning of these clerics to last week's suspension of the activities of Al-Wefaq, the main opposition party in Bahrain. The Bahraini government has accused Al-Wefaq of having ties with Iran and inciting sectarian tensions in Bahrain. According to reports, one of the five summoned individuals is Sheikh Fadhil Al-Zaki, the head of the Shia Scholars Council of Bahrain, which was dissolved by the Bahraini government two years ago. The summoning of these five occurred after they spoke at the home of Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, the spiritual leader of Al-Wefaq. The Bahraini government has accused Sheikh Isa Qassim of "encouraging sectarianism and violence" and has stripped him of his citizenship. Following this decision, in an unprecedented move, Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, issued a strongly worded statement warning the Bahraini government against stripping the citizenship of the leader of the Shia community in that country. In the past three weeks, the Bahraini government has taken various actions against its opponents, including the suspension of Al-Wefaq, intensifying the punishment in the sentencing of Sheikh Ali Salman, the leader of Al-Wefaq, and the arrest of Nabil Rajab, a prominent human rights activist. On Thursday, Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister, in a joint meeting with his Dutch counterpart Bert Koenders, said that "Tehran believes the international community should pay more attention to the situation in Bahrain." According to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), Mr. Zarif added: "The situation in Bahrain is very regrettable, and it seems that due to external pressures since the Saudi invasion of this country, peaceful avenues for the people of Bahrain have been closed, and we believe this is a very dangerous situation that requires more attention from the international community." The recent actions of the Bahraini government have also drawn criticism from other countries, including the United States and France, which have expressed concern over the news of the citizenship revocation of the Bahraini Shia leader. The United Nations has also expressed concern over recent developments in Bahrain, lamenting that the Bahraini government has chosen to restrict political and civil freedoms instead of listening to the independent inquiry commission established by the government itself in 2011.