Saudi Arabia, Iran discuss Hajj arrangements

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Mohammad Saleh Bin Taher Benten, met with a delegation from Tehran to discuss arrangements for Iranian pilgrims for this year’s Hajj season, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Thursday.

The talks came as part of ongoing meetings organized by the Hajj ministry with various countries over arrangements for the pilgrimage, which will take place around early September.

Iranian pilgrims did not attend Hajj last year due to political tensions between the two regional rivals.

Both nations failed for a second time to reach a deal on Hajj arrangements for Iranian pilgrims in May 2016, resulting in a delegation from Tehran leaving Saudi Arabia without signing an agreement.

The kingdom’s Hajj ministry said in a statement that it had proposed “a number of solutions” to accommodate Iranian pilgrims, and added that the Iranian delegation would be responsible for the “inability of the Iranian citizens to perform Hajj for this year.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign ministry later claimed that Saudi Arabia had not guaranteed consular support or security for Iranian pilgrims.

Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran have soured since prominent cleric Nimr Al-Nimr was executed in the kingdom earlier in 2016.

 Another point of contention between the two countries is safety following the Hajj pilgrimage in 2015, which saw a crane accident in Makkah’s Grand Mosque, as well as a stampede. Hundreds of pilgrims were killed in the incidents, including 464 Iranians.