MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The United Nations should make Riyadh cooperate with Iran and other countries in investigation over a stampede at the annual Hajj pilgrimage in the Saudi Arabian valley of Mina, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said.
According to Rouhani, the Saudi government “does not cooperate sufficiently in addressing the fate of the missing and transferring the bodies of those killed as well as helping the injured ones.”
“It is imperative that the UN Secretary General remind the Riyadh government of its legal and human obligations,” Rouhani said Saturday at a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as quoted by Iran’s IRNA agency.
Pilgrims from a total of 18 countries, including over 130 Iranian citizens, fell victim to the event, considered dangerous because of the size of the crowds that often create bottlenecks around the holy site.
On Thursday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saudi Arabia was responsible for the stampede near Mecca.
