TEHRAN – Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Ali Larijani said on Friday that the pressure by Iran finally forced the Saudi government to cooperate and take responsibility to the September 24 Hajj tragedy.

According to the latest reports, 465 Iranian pilgrims were among those who lost their lives in the Mina stampede.

“The Saudi government, which did not accept its responsibility in connection with status of Hajj pilgrims and the victims, was forced to accept to cooperate and be responsive,” Larijani said in a meeting with Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi in Qom on Friday.

Saudi Arabia has not been seriously cooperating with regards to transfer of the bodies of the pilgrims to Iran, Larijani said, adding that preliminary measures are arranged for the purpose although the core of the task, that is the delivery of the body of the victims, has not yet been fulfilled.

He went on to say that based on the statistics available, between 7,000 and 8,000 people lost their lives in Mina and the Saudi government buried bodies of about 800 pilgrims, mostly Africans, in its own territory, IRNA reported.

In a separate meeting on Friday with member of the Society of Qom Seminary Instructors Ayatollah Seyed Jaafar Karimi, Larijani said Saudis have had a very bad behavior with regards to delivery of the bodies of the pilgrims.

Larijani said operations for delivery of the bodies of the Iranian victims have started as of Friday and based on the statistics available bodies of 23 Hajj pilgrims have thus far been delivered.

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei on Wednesday warned Riyadh that the slightest disrespect for the Iranian Hajj pilgrims or its failure to repatriate the bodies of those killed in the Mina crush will draw Iran’s “severe and tough reaction”.


Iranian health Minister holds talks with Saudi counterpart for second time

Iranian Health Minister Qazizadeh Hashemi who has visited Saudi Arabia to oversee the treatment of the Iranians hospitalized in Saudi hospitals and facilitate the process of transferring pilgrims killed in the stampede was due to hold talks with his Saudi counterpart in Jeddah on Friday afternoon.

“In order to expedite the process of the transfer of the bodies of victims of the Mina disaster the second session of our country’s health minister with the Saudi health will be held today in Jeddah,” Dr. Abbbas Zar’e Nejad, the advisor to the health minister, told ISNA.


Culture minister says handling of stampede violates international law

In a letter on Thursday addressed to the Saudi Hajj minister, Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati said the Saudi government’s performance vis-à-vis Iran following the tragedy is in contravention of international and diplomatic norms, Press TV reported.

He also sharply criticized Saudi Arabia for delaying the repatriation of the bodies of Iranians pilgrims, noting that the Islamic Republic is resolved to pursue the matter until the fate of all pilgrims is determined.

Jannati also protested to Riyadh for its refusal to issue visa for members of an Iranian team tasked to fly to the kingdom to investigate the deadly crush.

Jannati was assigned by the government to head a special delegation to Saudi Arabia to follow up the incident and determine the fate of Iranian nationals affected by the tragedy. However, Riyadh denied him a visa.

Interior minister blasts Riyadh’s conduct

In a letter to his Saudi counterpart Muhammad bin Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Thursday, Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli strongly criticized the Arab country for its refusal to take responsibility for the crush.

More painful than the original incident is the irresponsibility and unaccountability, and unacceptable level of cooperation on the part of Saudi officials who were legally and ethically responsible for the pilgrims’ security, Rahmani Fazli stated.

It is necessary to ‘disclose all dark layers’ of the stampede

Foreign Ministry should follow Mina tragic event carefully, MP says

Chairman of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi said on Friday that the Foreign Ministry should follow the Mina tragedy with great care.

Addressing a Friday prayers congregation in Dezful, Boroujerdi said Majlis will also probe the case with special care.

He said it is necessary that 24 Muslim countries, whose pilgrims were among the victims, form a fact-finding committee to “disclose all dark layers of the major crime.”

He said the history of Islam will record this big catastrophe as an obvious crime of the Al-Saud regime.

International bodies urged to fulfill duties toward Mina incident

Hossein Naqavi-Hosseini, the spokesman of the parliamentary committee, also called for the establishment of a fact-fining committee to launch probe into the Mina incident, saying international organizations should do their best regarding the tragedy.

Talking to IRNA on Friday, Naqavi-Hosseini said the incident is unfortunately gaining new dimensions day by day and only such a committee can investigate the issue.

The reason behind the disaster will become clear only through investigating all aspects of the issue, he said, noting that it is necessary for the international bodies, including the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation, to set up a fact-finding committee to launch an all-out probe into the case.

After relevant investigations, those responsible behind the disaster should be brought to justice and punished, Naqavi-Hosseini said.

Military adviser: Iran to give Saudis firm response if necessary

A senior adviser to the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces also voiced Tehran’s readiness to show a “firm” and “crushing” reaction to Riyadh’s mismanagement of the Hajj rituals.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has strong power, and will give Al-Saud a firm and crushing response whenever necessary,” Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar told Tasnim.

Decrying Saudi officials’ unbearable mistakes, incompetence and mismanagement during this year’s Hajj, the former defense minister said Saudis are seeking to undermine Muslim people's beliefs through their incompetence.