Iran-Saudi Arabia Relations

President Rouhani has called on Riyadh to meet its international obligations and grant access for identification and return of bodies of those who were killed in the Mina tragedy.

Her comments came in reaction to allegations by some Arab media that Roknabadi traveled through unofficial routes to Saudi Arabia under a fake name.

Iran will adopt “necessary measures” to prevent the repeat of incidents such as the Mina tragedy, Foreign Minister Zarif said in a live interview with IRIB.

The MPS also called on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to dispatch a fact-finding mission to Saudi Arabia to investigate the causes of the Mina tragedy.

Shamkhani said the Mina catastrophe was definitely due to the inefficiency of the Saudi government whose top priority was not the safety of the pilgrims.

The Saudis’ refusal to assume responsibility for the Mina disaster is unacceptable, Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said.

Zarif also sent separate messages to his counterparts in the Muslim countries whose nationals have been killed or injured in Mecca.

Differences and hostilities between Iran and the US will not definitely be solved overnight, and time, prudence, and constructive measures are required, said President Rouhani.

The Iranian Cabinet has slammed Saudi mismanagement in dealing with Hajj pilgrims and decided to send a delegation led by the culture minister to Saudi Arabia for the management of the situation.

The qualitative and quantitative decline in the security standards in the Hajj played a decisive role in the catastrophe, Shamkhani said.

Iran’s interior minister in a letter to his Saudi counterpart has called for full investigation into the tragic stampede incident in Mina.

The attack was against international regulations supporting the immunity of diplomatic missions in other countries, Afkham said.

The Saudi government should have made the necessary preparations to safeguard the lives of the pilgrims in Mecca, Ali Larijani said.

The Foreign Ministry spokeswomen said insisting on wrong issues would result in nothing but wasting opportunities in the region and delaying the resolution of the crises.

A report by tabnak.ir has said that Saudi Arabia is using the Khobar Towers bombing as a trump card to influence a congressional decision on the Iran nuclear deal in the United States.

Khabaronline, a news website, praises the astute statesmanship of Iran’s Foreign Ministry for helping the country refrain from fuelling tensions with Saudi Arabia at this critical juncture.

A senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official has said that Tehran stands by the Syrian people and government and that people in the Arab country should decide their future in a democratic process.

Aftab-e Yazd, a reformist daily, has disputed Hamas’ new behavior and its ties with a country which does what it takes to harm Iran’s interests in the region.

All sides should focus on finding a political solution to the conflict in Yemen, said Amir Abdollahian, stressing that use of force would certainly fail to resolve the crisis.

Iran is against any kind of foreign intervention in the internal affairs of Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen; the US and its allies want to impose their will on the governments of these nations, said Velayati.

The Leader has emphasized that Iran’s refusal to accept an arrogant system is “the main reason” behind world bullying powers’ hostility toward the Iranian nation.

Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani has said that the Shiites do not want to get involved in confrontation with fellow Muslims, adding regional Islamic countries can count on Iran as their best friend.

A Saudi criminal court has sentenced two Saudi officers who molested two Iranian teenagers at the Jeddah airport to four years in prison and 1,000 lashes.

In a letter to the UN Security Council, Iran’s UN ambassador said Saudi air raids can have serious consequences if repeated.

A US-based Iranian lecturer has disputed the functionality of Iran’s policies on Saudi Arabia, saying that Tehran needs to adopt a better strategy in dealing with Riyadh.