TEHRAN - The spokesman for the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee said on Thursday that Saudi Arabia should be held responsible for the Sept. 24 Mina tragedy in which more than 400 Iranian pilgrims lost their lives.

The Iranian diplomatic forces should use all their energy to make Saudi Arabia compensate for the tragedy, Hossein Naqavi Hosseini told Mehr news agency.

“Over 400 Iranian pilgrims lost their lives in the Mina incident and the Foreign Ministry was expected to pursue the issue with seriousness,” he pointed out.

He added that so far nothing has happened to restore the rights of the families of victims.

After several rounds of negotiation between Iranian and Saudis officials to hash out discrepancies over the hajj issue, Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization of Iran (HPOI) announced on May 29 that it won’t dispatch pilgrims this year to Mecca because of inconsistency at decision-making level by Saudis.

Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran as Riyadh’s diplomatic posts in Tehran and Mashhad were attacked in public mobs, following the Saudi execution of Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr in January.

NA/PA