Pilgrims from Iran will be unable to attend hajj, which officially starts on September 11, this year after talks between the two countries on arrangements broke down in May.
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On Monday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticised Saudi Arabia over how it runs Hajj after a stampede past year killed more than 750 people. Iran and Saudi Arabia’s governments find themselves on opposite ends of wars in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen – battles where the most aggressive actors frame their campaigns in sectarian terms. Iran announced in May that its pilgrims would not be taking part in 2016.
“We must understand [Iranians] are not Muslims, for they are the descendants of Majuws, and their enmity toward Muslims, especially the Sunnis, is very old”, Grand Mufti Abdulaziz Al Sheikh said of predominantly Shia Islamic Iran Tuesday. Khamenei added that Muslims should reconsider Saudi control of the religion’s key holy sites.
“Indeed, no resemblance between Islam of Iranians and most Muslims, and bigoted extremism that Wahhabi top cleric and Saudi terror masters preach”, Zarif tweeted.
In 1991, Iran and Saudi Arabia renewed diplomatic relations after coming to an agreement to allow Iranian pilgrims to perform the Hajj again. “I miraculously escaped unhurt, but the incident has left a scar in my heart that will never heal”, Sani said after arriving in the kingdom with his wife.
The intensified spat between two nations on opposite sides of Islam’s ancient schism – and numerous region’s modern conflicts – comes days ahead of the anniversary of the Hajj tragedy previous year. Preliminary statements suggested the crush was caused when at least two large crowds intersected. The kingdom said 769 people were killed, though some estimates put the figure at more than 2,000. IBTimes UK recaps some of the worlds most famous pilgrims.
The announcement came after two rounds of negotiations between representatives of Iran and Saudi Arabia aimed at providing necessary conditions for presence of Iranian pilgrims in this year’s Hajj.
What made 2015 Hajj turn into a tragic event for Iran was a host of incidents happening during Hajj ceremony and affected both Lesser and Greater Hajj pilgrimage by Iranian pilgrims.
On Monday, Khamenei accused Saudis of “depriving” Iranians of the opportunity to attend.
The official IRNA news agency quotes Rouhani Wednesday as saying the pilgrims lost their lives because of the “lack of qualification” of Saudi authorities.
Arab foreign ministers weighed in Thursday on a bitter dispute between Tehran and Riyadh over the hajj pilgrimage, after Iran’s supreme leader questioned Saudi Arabia’s management of Islam’s holiest site.
The move was in response to the Saudi execution of the dissident Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
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For the first time in nearly three decades, Iranians will not participate in this year’s pilgrimage to Mecca after talks on logistics and security fell apart.
