Manama, Feb 6 : A top Egyptian cleric has told visiting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad not to interfere in the affairs of Bahrain or other Gulf states.

Ahmad Al Tayyeb, the grand imam of Cairo's Al Azhar, highest Sunni seat of learning, also told him to uphold the rights of his country's Sunni minority.

The cleric denounced what he described as the "spread of Shiism in Sunni lands," Gulf News reports.

According to the report, Al Tayyeb demanded "the Iranian president respect Bahrain as a brotherly Arab nation, and not interfere in the affairs of Gulf states".

In October, Bahrain summoned an Iranian envoy to protest at Tehran's "interference" in the Gulf state's internal affairs.

Shiite-ruled Iran has supported protests by Bahrain's Shiite majority against the Sunni monarchy. (ANI)