He charged that Iran was making “efforts to politicise Hajj and convert it into an occasion to violate the teachings of Islam, through shouting slogans and disturbing the security of pilgrims”.
Advertisement
In comments to the Makkah newspaper, the top Saudi cleric was quoted as saying that Khamenei’s remarks are “not surprising” because Iranians are descendants of “Majuws”- a term that refers to Zoroastrians and those who worship fire. “Their main enemies are the followers of Sunnah (Sunnis)”. For the Grand Mufti, an influential scholar respected across the globe, to say that “they (Iranians) are children of Magi and their hostility towards Muslims is an old one”, is truly shocking and will haunt Shia communities living across the region for years to come.
This week, millions of Muslims from across the globe will descend on the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj pilgrimage.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that Muslims should “punish the government of Saudi Arabia in order to have a real Hajj“. Saudi Arabia beheaded 28 hajj organizers in response to the tragedy.
However, tensions between the two nations started deteriorating after Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran in January following the storming of its embassy in Tehran.
On Monday, Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei accused the Saudis of murder, saying the injured had been “locked up” with the dead instead of being cared for.
Last year’s nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, which unleashed Iran’s economy from years of ever-tightening economic sanctions, raised Saudi concerns that a richer Iran would seek to impose itself more in the region.
The ayatollah made the allegation on the anniversary of the stampede, which killed at least 2,426 people, including 464 Iranians, according to an unofficial count.
Rouhani further lambasted Saudi authorities for their “tactlessness and ineptitude” in overseeing the Hajj pilgrimage a year ago, when thousands of Muslim pilgrims, including 465 Iranians, died in a human crush.
Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia hit a new low after the two countries failed to reach a deal on arrangements for Iranian citizens to attend this year’s pilgrimage.
Through his comments, the Grand Mufti attempted to stress Iranians were Zoroastrianism, a highly dominant belief in Persia until the Muslim Arab invasion. Khamenei considered the supporters of the Saudi regime as complicit in the Mina tragedy, adding “the shameless Saudi regime backed by the USA is standing flagrantly against Muslims and continues to shed innocent bloods in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Bahrain”.
Advertisement
“Leader’s words are instructions” of Iran’s Foreign Policy establishment and would be pursued in all aspects, Rahimpour said.
