In an Instagram post on Sunday, Secretary of Expediency Council and former IRGC general Major General Mohsen Rezaei leveled outspoken criticism against Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir for his “crass” and “far from diplomatic” comments in a press conference earlier that day, and suggested he make a trip to Iran to learn proper diplomatic attitude.
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“Iran has demanded the right to organise. demonstrations and to have privileges. that would cause chaos during the hajj”.
The Iranian Hajj Organisation has accused Saudi Arabia, custodian of Islam’s holiest sites, of raising obstacles and “blocking the path to Allah”.
“Despite all the Islamic Republic’s efforts, the Saudis ignored the absolute right of the Iranians to perform the Hajj rituals”, Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization said in a statement.
He also criticized the Riyadh regime for not making an apology to the families of the victims of last year’s deadly crush of pilgrims near Mecca, stressing that Saudis need to give guarantees about the safety of Hajj pilgrims.
Saudi Arabia accuses Shia Hezbollah – Lebanon’s most powerful military force – of serving as a proxy for Shia Iran and of hijacking Lebanese policymaking.
“If it is about measures and procedures, I think we have done more than our duty to meet those needs, but it is the Iranians who have rejected things”.
In January, Saudi Arabia cut off their diplomatic ties with Iran, over a row concerning the Saudi execution of a prominent Shia Muslim cleric. The tensions have impacted the annual hajj pilgrimage, required of all able-bodied Muslims to perform once in their lives.
The Saudi side had failed to respond to Iranian demands over “the security and respect” of its pilgrims to Makkah, of whom 60,000 took part in last year’s Haj, the organisation said.
Hammond had earlier held meetings with Saudi King Salman and senior princes in the Red Sea city of Jiddah to discuss the wars in Syria and Yemen, where Saudi Arabia and Iran back opposing sides of the conflicts, and the ongoing turmoil in Libya.
Saudi Arabia, a Sunni powerhouse in the Middle East, and Iran, its Shiite rival in the region, have always been butting heads. Tehran said Riyadh had insisted that visas for Iranians be issued in a third country and would not allow pilgrims to be flown aboard Iranian aircraft.
Iran has blamed regional rival Saudi Arabia for sabotage and failing to guarantee the safety of its pilgrims.
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Great rivalry explained: Why don’t Iran and Saudi Arabia get along? Among the dead were 464 Iranians, according to state media reports.
