In Washington, the U.S. State Department said the harsh words would only worsen tensions in the Middle East, where Saudi Arabia and Iran are vying for influence in countries such as Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon.
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“This incident proves once again that this cursed, evil family does not deserve to be in charge and manage the holy sites”, Khamenei said.
There has been a bit of controversy around the planned 2016 pilgrimage.
Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti, Al al-Sheikh hit back in a Saudi newspaper saying: “We have to understand that they (Iranians) are not Muslims…”
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”.
It’s a five-day pilgrimage and is one of the world’s largest gatherings. 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.
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 a year ago.
While the attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran caused the two countries to officially sever ties, relations had already deteriorated to an irreparable point with the Mina stampede and its aftermath. Counts of fatalities by countries who repatriated bodies showed that more than 2,000 people may have died, more than 400 of them Iranians.
He accused the Saudis of incompetence in last year’s handling of event.
Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, GCC Secretary-General, stressed that GCC countries consider the statement of Khamenei of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the pilgrimage “a public incitement and a desperate attempt to politicise this great Islamic ritual that brings Muslims together in these blessed days in the Two Holy Mosques”.
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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a press-conference in Tehran. 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.
