TEHRAN - Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Monday that the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council’s accusations against Iran are “repetitive” and “unfounded”.

Qassemi’s comments came as the PGCC issued a statement at the end of the ministerial council session held at the headquarters of the Saudi permanent mission to the UN in New York accusing Iran of continuing to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs.

The statement also claimed that Iran stirs sectarian divisions among its own people and also accused the country of making attempts to politicize Hajj and to exploit it for political goals.

Qassemi said, “Saudis cannot refuse to accept responsibility of responding about the killings thousands of God’s house pilgrims through taking such moves.” 

The Foreign Ministry official also said that imposing “biased” and “unilateral” views is a “defeated” and “invalid” tactic.

In the stampede in Mina on September 24, 2015, 464 Iranian pilgrims lost their lives. 

The 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. The decision came after Iranian and Saudis officials failed to iron out differences over the security of pilgrims despite several rounds of talks.

NA/PA