Iran, Saudi Arabia Ink Deal on This Year’s Hajj: Minister

TEHRAN (Defapress) – Salehi pointed to the latest measures and preparations for sending Iranian nationals to Saudi Arabia for Hajj and said that an agreement has been signed between the two sides.

“..., we have made frequent trips to Saudi Arabia to make preparations for the pilgrims’ trips and the required arrangements,” he added.

The minister went on to say that Tehran-Riyadh negotiations on the issue of Hajj pilgrimage have been on “a good path” and that there has been no problem so far.

Earlier this week, the chairman of the Iranian parliament's Hajj and Pilgrimage Faction announced that the number of Iranian pilgrims who will participate in this year’s Hajj in Saudi Arabia will be 5,000 more than those attending the rituals in 2017.

Last year, 85,000 Iranian pilgrims attended the Hajj ceremonies, Hojatoleslam Ahad Azadikhah told Tasnim, adding that the country’s quota for Hajj 2018 has increased by 5,000.

Therefore, 90,000 pilgrims and 5,000 people involved in organizing the event are planned to go on the pilgrimage this year, he went on to say.

In 2016, more than 1.8 million pilgrims attended Hajj, but Iranians stayed at home after tensions between Riyadh and Tehran boiled over following a deadly crush of people during the 2015 pilgrimage.

On September 24, 2015, thousands of people lost their lives in the deadly crush after Saudi authorities blocked a road in Mina during a ritual, forcing large crowds of pilgrims to collide.

The crush was the deadliest incident in the history of the pilgrimage. According to an Associated Press count based on official statements from the 36 countries that lost citizens in the disaster, more than 2,400 pilgrims were killed in the incident.

Saudi Arabia claims nearly 770 people were killed, but officials at Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization say about 7,000 people, including over 460 Iranian pilgrims, lost their lives.