Iran, Saudi Arabia in Standoff Over Hajj Security Amid Last Year’s Tragedy

The head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, Saeed Ohadi, claimed that the Saudis are failing to give clear responses to Tehran regarding the security of Iranian pilgrims during this year’s religious rituals, IRNA reported.

Recently, Tehran sent to Riyadh a list of 20 proposals aimed at improving security for the Islamic Republic’s nationals making a hajj.

“We have informed Saudis of our conditions for ensuring the [Iranian] pilgrims’ safety, [and treating them with] respect and dignity, in addition to some other issues,” Ali Jannati, Iran’s Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, said as quoted by Tasnim News Agency.

The Saudis, in turn, have fallen short of making firm steps toward a bilateral agreement on the issue that could satisfy Iranians, Ohadi explained. And as the sides continue negotiating, a "temporal red line" for Hajj arrangements in Iran is approaching, he added.

“The continuation of the current situation will definitely pose challenges to this year’s Hajj,” Ohadi observed.

Jannati has underscored that Iran would boycott Hajj this year, if Saudis do not comply with the requirements issued by Tehran.

Disagreement between the states escalated in the wake of last year’s stampede that killed some 460 Iranians. The incident, considered the deadliest occurrence of its kind, happened when two crowds of pilgrims converged at a crossroad near Mecca. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Saudis claimed that the death toll reached 770, while Iran stated that some 4,700 people died in the stampede.

Prior to the tragedy, a construction crane collapsed in Mecca’s Grand Mosque in a separate incident, killing over a hundred people, including 11 Iranians.