Iran: Saudi Arabia Blocking Hajj
Local Editor
Iran announced Sunday its pilgrims will miss this year's hajj because Saudi Arabia, custodian of Islam's holiest sites, was raising obstacles and blocking the path to Allah for its faithful.
The Iranian Hajj Organization said: "Saudi Arabia is opposing the absolute right of Iranians to go on the hajj and is blocking the path leading to Allah."
The Saudi side had failed to respond to Iranian demands over "the security and respect" of its pilgrims to Mecca, of whom 60,000 took part in last year's hajj," the organization said.
In the latest dispute between regional rivals Tehran and Riyadh, "after two series of negotiations without any results because of obstacles raised by the Saudis, Iranian pilgrims will unfortunately not be able to take part in the hajj" in September, Iran's Culture Minister Ali Jannati said.
Saudi officials have said an Iranian delegation ended a visit to the kingdom on Friday without reaching final agreement on arrangements for pilgrims from the Islamic republic.
This year's would be the first hajj in almost three decades to take place without the participation of pilgrims from Iran.
Earlier this month, Iran accused its regional rival of seeking to sabotage the hajj, a pillar of Islam that devout Muslims must perform at least once during their lifetime if they can.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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