Faizel Patel, 2016-05-12
Iran says its citizens would not participate in this year’s annual hajj to Makkah in Saudi Arabia as Tehran and Riyadh trade blame over a failure to agree on organisational details.
The pronouncement is the latest sign of discord between the two rival nations and comes after last year’s hajj events were marred by the death of more than 2,000 pilgrims, 464 of them Iranian, in a stampede at Mina on the outskirts of the holy city of Makkah
Al Jazeera is reporting a delegation from Tehran held four days of talks in Saudi Arabia last month, aimed at reaching a deal for Iranians to go for Hajj, which will take place in September.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted Ali Jannati, Tehran’s Islamic Guidance and Culture Minister Ali Jannati whose ministry oversees arrangements for Iranian pilgrims as blaming Riyadh for the impasse.
“The arrangements have not been put together and it’s now too late.”
According to a statement carried by state-linked news site Sabq, the Saudi Hajj ministry says Tehran’s delegation had refused to sign an agreement laying out arrangements for this year’s pilgrimage.
The statement says Iran’s demands include the granting of visas inside Iran and transport arrangements that would evenly split the pilgrims between Saudi and Iranian airlines.
“Iran is the only country that refused to sign the agreement on the Hajj. It insisted on a number of unacceptable demands,” Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mohammed Bintin told Saudi state TV channel Ekhbariya.
Saudi Arabia and Iran severed ties after protesters in Iran attacked Saudi diplomatic missions there following the execution of a prominent Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia.
Iran wants Saudi Arabia to issue visas through the Swiss embassy in Tehran. Saudi Arabia’s Hajj ministry, however, said that it informed the Iranians that they could get their visas through the online system used for all pilgrims coming from abroad.
A culture ministry official said Iran was “very concerned over the security of Iranians during the holy ceremony” and that talks with Saudi authorities were continuing.
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