BEIRUT, Aug. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Iraq's top Shiite Muslim cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-al-Sistani, arrived here Friday to change planes on his way to London for a medical treatment, Beirut airport security officials said.

    Sistani arrived on a chartered jet from Iraq and departed on ascheduled Middle East Airlines flight for London, said the officials.

    During his stopover, the cleric met with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who heads the Lebanese Shiite faction Amal,the officials added.

    However, the officials did not elaborate on Sistani's state of health.

    A spokesman of the cleric revealed that Sistani suffered a health crisis related to his heart and a team of specialist doctors are treating him and providing care.

    Born in Iran, Sistani, 73, lives surrounded by close relatives and aides in a modest home in Iraq's southern holy city of Najaf.

    As the top religious figure among the country's Shiite Muslim majority, he has carried great political weight in Iraq. Enditem