Iran summons Saudi charge d’ affaires over Mina incident

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that the Saudi charge d’ affaires to Tehran has been summoned to the Foreign Ministry over the deadly incident in Mina during Hajj rituals.

Amir Abdollahian said that the Foreign Ministry conveyed Iran’s strong protest to Saudi envoy for his country’s failure to protect the lives of Hajj pilgrims.

“Saudi officials have been asked to provide immediate medical services to those injured in the incident,” the Iranian deputy foreign minister said.

He added that a committee has been formed to follow up the fate of Iranian pilgrims who died during the incident and the recovery of those injured.

On Thursday, the Iranian foreign ministry announced setting up a special committee to pursue the fate of the country’s nationals killed or wounded in a stampede during one of the last rituals of the Hajj season.

“The Iranian embassy, consulate, Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization and all the relevant bodies in Mecca” are pursing the situation of those harmed in the incident, Amir Abdollahian said.

He blamed Saudi officials for the incident, and said they should rapidly take effective measures to handle the crisis and provide safety and security for the pilgrims.

Also on Friday, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli in a letter to his Saudi counterpart Mohammad bin Nayef called for full investigation into the tragic stampede incident in Mina, which resulted in the death of hundreds of Hajj pilgrims, including Iranians.

“As Iran’s interior minister I ask you to order the concerned Saudi Hajj officials to do their utmost cooperation with the Iranian relief workers stationed in Mecca and Mina to organize the affairs of the Iranian pilgrims,” Rahmani Fazli said in his letter.

In another development, Iranian protesters held rallies across the country after Friday prayers to blast Saudi Arabia’s mismanagement and mishandling of the Hajj rituals. The protesters chanted slogans against the Al Saud regime, Israel and arrogant powers.

They also issued a resolution at the end of their rallies, calling for a thorough probe into the Mina incident by the international bodies. “The Mina tragedy and the bitter incident of Mecca is the result of incapability, mismanagement and lack of commitment on the part of the Saudi government with regard to the protection of the lives of Hajj pilgrims,” the resolution said.

The protesters also condemned the Saudi regime for attacking the Yemeni civilians, mostly women and children.

“The puppet Saudi regime has jeopardized regional security by massacring the Muslim Ummah (community) by Takfiri and Wahhabi terrorists and imposing war on the oppressed and revolutionary Yemeni nation,” they said.