Iran’s Leader raps Saudi Arabia over Hajj management
Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Monday blasted Saudi Arabia over its management of Hajj and called for a fresh investigation into a deadly stampede in September 2015.
“A fact-finding committee, with Iran’s presence, should be formed to investigate these tragedies. Relevant Iranian authorities should mobilize all legal resources to follow up the incident,” the Leader told a group of officials in charge of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
Saudi Arabia says nearly 800 pilgrims died when two big groups of pilgrims collided at a crossroads in Mina, a few kilometers east of Mecca, on their way to performing the “Stoning of the Devil” ritual at Jamarat. But counts by countries of repatriated bodies showed over 2,000 people died. Iran said 465 of its nationals lost their lives in the incident.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the holy sites in Mecca and Medina “belong to all Muslims” and they do not belong to the rulers of Saudi Arabia.
Iran boycotted the Hajj in 2016 amid tensions with Saudi Arabia over the deadly crush.
“Hajj is the best opportunity to display that religion and politics cannot be separated ... the real Hajj is a combination of demonstrating unity and disavowal of disbelievers,” the Leader said.
Approximately 85,000 Iranians are expected to attend the Hajj pilgrimage this year in Islam’s holiest city Mecca.
Riyadh severed diplomatic relations in 2016 after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi Embassy in Tehran following the execution of a Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia in January 2016.
‘Satanic plan’
Ayatollah Khamenei also called US President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” for the Palestinian territories a “satanic plan”, saying it is a nonstarter.
“The Americans have named their satanic policy on Palestine ‘the deal of the century’ but they should know that, by divine grace, this ‘deal of the century’ will never materialize,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
According to an Israeli intelligence website, Trump has proposed to establish a Palestinian state with limited sovereignty over around half of the West Bank and Abu Dis village as its capital.
Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, his special adviser for international negotiations, are reportedly the main architects of the plan.
Sources with access to Trump’s plan have told Israeli intelligence website DEBKAFILE that a Palestinian state would be established with limited sovereignty across about half of the West Bank and all the Gaza Strip. The besieged sliver of land, they said, would be integrated in the new state provided the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas agreed to give up its arms.
“To the dismay of the enemies, the Palestinian issue will not be forgotten and Alquds will remain the Palestinian capital,” the Leader said.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the Palestinian people will stand against this “conspiracy,” and Muslim nations will support them.
“Of course, some Islamic governments, which have no belief in Islam, have become ready-to-die followers of the Americans out of foolishness, ignorance and temporal vanity,” he said.
“But by the grace of God, the Islamic Ummah and the Palestinian people will win over their enemies and will see the day when the roots of the illegitimate Zionist regime will be ripped out of the Palestinian land,” he added.
Reuters and Press TV contributed to this story.