Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the remark on Wednesday among the families of the martyrs of Mina stampede and Masjid ul-Haram crane crash as well as families of Hajj pilgrims martyred in 1987 on the eve of the first martyrdom anniversary of almost 500 Iranian Hajj pilgrims in the Mina tragedy.
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As millions of Muslim prepare to make the annual Hajj pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia and Iran remain at odds over a disaster that marred last year’s events.
A year after the worst hajj disaster in a generation, Saudi Arabia is issuing pilgrims with electronic bracelets and using more surveillance cameras to avoid a repeat of a crush that killed hundreds and damaged already strained ties with Iran.
Iran’s supreme leader on Monday said Saudi Arabian authorities “murdered” Muslim pilgrims who were injured during last year’s hajj stampede.
Iran said in May its pilgrims would not attend, blaming Riyadh for “sabotage” and failing to guarantee their safety. Even before last year’s stampede, he writes, “Tehran has been involved in many incidents that led to the death of pilgrims”.
Saudi officials defended their running of the pilgrimage, with Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Nayef on September 5 saying the kingdom had always provided Iranian pilgrims with access to all facilities.
He described Iranian leaders as sons of “magus”, a reference to Zoroastrianism, the dominant belief in Persia until the Muslim Arab invasion of the region that is now Iran 13 centuries ago.
Lebanon’s Shia Hezbollah group has banned members from performing the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia this year, a source close to the movement said. But the counts of fatalities by countries that repatriated bodies showed different numbers – over 2,000 people or more may have died in the crush, out of which more than 400 of them were Iranians.
They are at odds over a number of regional issues including Syria and Yemen. The two countries severed diplomatic relations in January after Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Saudi Shiite cleric and angry Iranian crowds overran Saudi diplomatic missions.
Muslim pilgrims have begun arriving at the holiest sites in Islam ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, with some weeping with their hands outstretched for a fleeting touch of the Kaaba.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif responded to Al Sheikh’s remarks with a tweet, linking Saudi Wahabism to the fundamentalist terrorism of the moment: “Indeed; no resemblance between Islam of Iranians & most Muslims & bigoted extremism that Wahhabi top cleric & Saudi terror masters preach”.
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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.
