Bahrain Mirror (AFP): A Bahraini court on Tuesday suspended the main opposition Al-Wefaq group pending a verdict on dissolving it altogether, the justice ministry said, accusing the Shiite bloc of breaking the law.

The court also ordered the closure of Al-Wefaq's offices and froze its funds, the ministry said in a statement on the official Bahrain News Agency.

Al-Wefaq draws most of its support from the Shiite majority in the Sunni-ruled nation.

Its chief, Shiite cleric Ali Salman, is already serving a nine-year jail term for inciting violence after a court in May more than doubled his sentence.

His arrest in December 2014 sparked protests in Bahrain, already rocked by a Shiite-led uprising that erupted in February 2011.

The court decision on Tuesday followed a request by the justice ministry to dissolve Al-Wefaq for alleged illegal activity.

It was accused of offering a haven for "terrorism, radicalisation, and violence" and opening the way for "foreign interference" in the kingdom's affairs, the ministry said.

The statement was referring to Iran, which the Sunni-ruled kingdom accuses of fuelling unrest on its soil by backing the opposition.

Al-Wefaq will be unable to operate until a verdict is issued on dissolving it, BNA reported.

A judicial source told AFP that a court will convene on October 6 to probe the matter.

The justice ministry said its move against the Shiite bloc was part of a drive to "combat extremism... and protect society."

The announcement comes just one day after Bahraini security forces rearrested leading human rights activist Nabeel Rajab.

Home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, Bahrain has been shaken by unrest since security forces crushed the 2011 protests demanding a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister.

In October 2014, the administrative court banned Al-Wefaq for three months for violating the law on associations.

Political parties are banned in Bahrain, as in other Gulf Arab monarchies, so Al-Wefaq has the status of an association.