Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei renewed criticism of Saudi Arabia over how it runs the haj after a crush past year killed hundreds of pilgrims, and suggested Muslim countries think about ending Riyadh’s control of the annual pilgrimage.
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Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, voiced similar sentiments Tuesday, accusing Saudi Arabia of intentionally killing pilgrims past year.
The comments came after Saudi Arabia’s top cleric, Grand Mufti Abdulaziz al-Sheikh, said Iranians – who are predominantly Shi’a – were “not Muslims”.
The verbal sparring between the two regional rivals – who have no diplomatic relations – has intensified ahead of the start of the pilgrimage on Saturday.
At least 2,297 pilgrims were killed in a stampede at the pilgrimage in 2015, with Iranians making up the bulk of the victims. But Monday’s rebuke from Mr. Khamenei, who has final say over most matters of state in Iran, was his sharpest since the stampede.
The crown prince dismissed Khamenei as lacking credibility and objectivity, stressing that the Saudis have never treated Iranian pilgrims any differently than the other pilgrims, while Iranian pilgrims do not always respect the rules of hajj.
Khamenei has urged Muslims throughout the world to challenge the status quo in which Saudi Arabia controls the holy sites in Mecca and Medina.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has been gearing up for the event, fearing a repeat of last year’s tragedy.
“Iran demanded the right to organize demonstrations and to have privileges that would cause chaos during the hajj”.
But for Middle Eastern regional powers Iran and Saudi Arabia, the run-up to this year’s pilgrimage, which begins this week, took on a different tone.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called Wednesday on the Muslim world to unite and punish the Saudi government for its handling of the Hajj pilgrimage and wider actions in the region.
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”. The dates of the tradition are based on the moon, and the schedule was made official by authorities in Saudi Arabia Thursday “based on the sighting of the moon”, according to Al Jazeera.
Riyadh said 769 pilgrims were killed in the 2015 disaster – the highest haj death toll since a crush in 1990. “This is unacceptable”, Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jabir said last May, adding that the Iranian regime would be “answerable to Allah” for its attitude.
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Saudi Arabia is expecting a more subdued Hajj and ensuing Eid celebration this year: the global slump in oil prices has led to government spending cuts and a drop in consumer spending, leaving citizens facing their most austere Eid in more than a decade.
