Mina crush indicates Saudi incompetence in managing Hajj rituals

EghtesadOnline: Head of Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization Saeed Ohadi said on Friday that the martyrdom of over 7,000 pilgrims during the Mina crush in Saudi Arabia last year showed the incompetence of the authorities in charge of the rituals there.

News ID: ۷۶۹۷۱۷

25 September 2016

Ohadi made the remarks in a meeting with families of a number of Hajj tragedy victims from northern province of Mazandaran, reports IRNA.

He reiterated that 464 Iranians were among the pilgrims that were martyred in a stampede in Mina.

The offical underscored Saudi Arabia has committed a crime that was unprecedented in history, indicating the incompetence of Al-Saud officials in charge of the Hajj rituals.

Having proven to be incompetent in running Hajj affairs, Ohadi said, Saudi Arabia is afraid of Iranian pilgrims' presence in their country.

He said Saudi officials kept claiming that only 700 pilgrims have been perished in Mina tragedy.

Touching upon the recent regional developments, he added that Al-Saud is also seeking to expand its relations with the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) terrorist organization and the Zionist regime.

The MKO is the most hated terrorist group by the Iranians because of its history of assassinations and bombings and for siding with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in his eight-year war on Iran in the 1980s.

In a Hajj stampede in Mina, near Mecca, last year, more than 7,000 Hajj pilgrims lost their lives, including 465 Iranians.