It referred to what it said was an overall death toll of 4,173.
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“It is disturbing and regrettable for everyone to witness the guests of God (Hajj pilgrims) are hurt in this way”, Raeisi said, adding that the tragic incident should not be considered merely the Saudis’ lack of prudence and competence, but an outright crime.
We demand that the Saudi government take responsibility for this catastrophe and fulfil its legal and Islamic duties in this regard. Fourteen Iranians were arrested, it said.
Six days after the tragedy, many bodies have yet to be identified, and Iran fears that many of its people still unaccounted for may be among them.
Hours later, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continued Iran’s attacks on Saudi Arabia over its handling of the stampede near the holy city of Mecca, in which hundreds of pilgrims were killed.
Spokesman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria Uba Mana, who confirmed the figure to Xinhua, said 244 Nigerian pilgrims are still missing following the sad incident.
Until previous year, Roknabadi was Tehran’s envoy to Beirut, a highly sensitive post.
The Saudi Arabian embassy has been contacted for comment but had not replied at the time of publication.
In the other corner is Saudi whose health minister issued a statement hours after the incident, suggesting that pilgrims had failed to follow instructions.
Saudi and Iranian citizens have lit up social media with rumours, commentary and videos as tensions rise.
A former Iranian lawmaker has said Saudi Arabia is going to be afflicted with numerous internal conflicts in the years to come.
Upon his arrival at Tehran’s global Mehrabad airport, Rouhani issued a decree whereby the Vice President Es’hag Jahangiri was tasked to establish a committee to study the disaster in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which claimed the lives of at least 228 Iranian pilgrims. That prompted Riyadh to form a coalition of Arab nations to combat the Houthis.
According to Saudi officials, over 760 Muslim pilgrims have died during the stampede at the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mina near Mecca on Thursday.
The accusations of mismanagement of the pilgrimage strike at a key pillar of the Saudi royal family’s prestige, with King Salman holding the title of the “custodian of the two holy mosques”.
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“We are going to disclose the truth when it comes out (following the completion of an investigation) and not hide anything”.
