Iranian commander warns Saudi of deployment risk

TEHRAN,Iran – One of Iran's top military commanders says Saudi Arabia's deployment of forces to quell protests by Shiite Muslims in Bahrain will spark unrest at home.

The semi-official Mehr news agency has quoted Gen. Hasan Firouzabadi, head of Iran's joint chiefs of staff, as saying Sunday that Saudis will rise up to oppose the deployment.

The uprising in Bahrain has strained relations between Shiite-majority Iran and other country's in the Gulf like Saudi Arabia that are mostly Sunni.

Iran has denounced Gulf leaders for dispatching a Saudi-led military force to prop up Bahrain's Sunni monarchy and try to quell the protests by Shiites, who comprise 70 percent of the population but are excluded from key government and security posts.