TEHRAN – Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Iran will give “harsh” and “tough” response to any disrespect to the Iranian pilgrims in Mecca and Medina by Saudi Arabia.

The warning by the Leader came as more than 4000 pilgrims, including 400 Iranians, lost their lives in a stampede while performing their Hajj rituals in Mina last Thursday.

Leader said it is essential to form a fact-finding committee with involvement of Islamic countries to examine the Mina tragedy.

“Representatives from Iran and the Islamic world should go to Saudi Arabia and investigate the cause of the Hajj incident,” Ayatollah Khamenei asserted.

Speaking at a ceremony for the graduates of the Iranian Army’s military academies in the city of Noshahr in northern Mazandaran Province, the Leader described the incident as a “disaster” for the Iranian people.

The Leader added that the Saudi Arabian government has not fulfilled its duties towards the injured and dead pilgrims of the Mina incident.

Iranian officials say Saudi Arabia has not done enough to identify and transfer the bodies of the victims to Iran. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Wednesday that Iran will not allow a single Iranian to be buried in Saudi Arabia.

“Saudi Arabia failed to help the injured and are causing trouble in transfer of the bodies to Iran,” the Leader noted.

“We have shown self-restraint so far, but the Saudis should know Iran is more powerful and has more capabilities and they cannot compete with us in any front,” he added.

Senior officials including President Hassan Rouhani and the speaker of the parliament have publicly condemned the Saudi authorities and called for an investigation. The Supreme Leader has called on the kingdom to apologize.

The Leader also compared the kingdom to pagans who ruled the Arabian Peninsula before the advent of Islam in the seventh century.



Saeed Ohadi, head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, said on Tuesday that 239 Iranian pilgrims have so far been confirmed dead in the Mina tragedy. According to Ohadi, 200 of Iranian pilgrims are still missing.

Leader criticizes Saudi attack on Yemen

The Leader also lambasted the Saudi airstrike on a wedding ceremony in Yemen on Monday, where over 135 people were killed. The Leader termed such attacks as signs that the Saudi Army lacks bravery.

At least 135 civilians lost their lives and many more sustained injuries as Saudi fighter jets hit the celebration in the Mokha port city, situated 346 kilometers south of the capital, Sana’a, on Monday. Hospital officials also said 70 women are among the victims of the airborne massacre. The United Nations also confirmed that Saudi airstrike that hit a wedding ceremony in Yemen’s southwestern province of Ta’izz.

NA/PA