Iran’s Parliament (Majlis) speaker Ali Larijani said decision to strip Sheikh Issa al-Qassem of citizenship signals the looming demise of Al Khalifa.

Iran’s Parliament (Majlis) speaker Ali Larijani denounced Bahraini regime's decision to strip leading Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassem of citizenship, saying the move signals the looming demise of the ruling family, Al Khalifa.

 “These measures are a sign that a regime that threatens its prominent figures with revoking their citizenship is drawing its last breaths,” the speaker told a parliament session.

The decision is only the latest in a string of “inhumane” measures that include repressing political dissent, manipulating Shia religious funds, and killing Bahraini civilians, Larijani added.

Manama stripped Sheikh Qassem of his citizenship on Monday, accusing him of sowing "sectarianism and violence."

The decision has raised fears of a further showdown between protesters and security forces in the kingdom which is already the scene of regular protests.

The move, Larijani said, dashes all hopes for a political solution to the crisis in Bahrain and “encourages the repressed people who have been deprived of their basic rights into revolt.”

He said the only demand sought by the disenfranchised Bahrainis was equal suffrage.

“Is this so excessive an expectation that has prompted the regime instead to stage a campaign of death and destruction against the people for years?”