Iran Delegation to Visit Saudi Arabia for Talks on Hajj
Speaking at a press conference in Tehran on Sunday, Rouhani noted that Iran had cancelled Umrah (minor Hajj) before the September 2015 Mina disaster but added that the halt to the annual Hajj pilgrimage was temporary.
Iran does not seek to cancel participation of Iranian pilgrims in the annual Hajj ceremony, he said, noting, however, that there has been no agreement with the Saudis on the issue yet.
The president in April last year ordered the suspension of the Umrah Hajj pilgrimage following the sexual abuse of two Iranian teenagers by Saudi officers at the Jeddah airport.
The Umrah is a pilgrimage to Mecca performed by Muslims and can be undertaken at any time of the year in comparison with the major hajj pilgrimage which is performed annually within a specific period of time.
Later in September 2015, at least 7,500 pilgrims, including over 460 Iranians, were killed in a crush in Mina, near Mecca when performing Hajj rites.
Meanwhile, there have been doubts about participation of Iranian Hajjis in the 2016 Hajj pilgrimage after the severance of ties between Tehran and Riyadh in recent months.
Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia ran high in January following Riyadh’s execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, and a subsequent attack by outraged Iranian protesters on the Saudi embassy in Tehran, which resulted in the Arab country’s decision to sever its ties with the Islamic Republic.
