Leader Declares 3 Days of National Mourning in Iran over Hajj Deaths
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei declared 3 days of national mourning over the deaths of hundreds of Hajj pilgrims, including over 130 Iranians in a stampede in Mina, near Mecca, asking Saudi authorities to accept responsibility of the incident.
In a message issued on Thursday evening, Ayatollah Khamenei expressed deep sympathy to the survivors and familes of the Mina victimes throughout the Muslim community, and emphasized that the tragic incident has caused a “great grief” in the Islamic world.
“Wrong management and improper measures, which have caused this disaster, should not be neglected,” the leader stated.
“Offering condolences to the bereaved mourners, I declare three days of national mourning in the country,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
"The Saudi government is obligated to shoulder its heavy responsibility in this bitter incident and meet its obligations in compliance with the rule of righteousness and fairness,” the Leader said.
In another statement, President Hassan Rouhani's administration voiced deep sorrow over the incident emphasizing that the Saudi government is held accountable for the consequences of its negligence in guaranteeing security for the pilgrims.
It further called on the Saudi government to “identify the factors that caused this incident”, help return the bodies of the Iranian pilgrims to the country quickly and provide treatment to the injured.
According to media reports, at least 1300 pilgrims were killed Thursday in the stampede outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, the worst disaster to strike the annual Hajj pilgrimage in 25 years.
Photographs published on the Twitter feed of the Saudi civil defense Thursday showed pilgrims lying on stretchers while emergency workers in high-visibility jackets lifted them into an ambulance.
Unverified video posted on Twitter showed bodies, clad in the white toweling of those undertaking Hajj, lying on the ground by the side of the road, surrounded by debris, as pilgrims and rescue workers attempted to revive them.
The Hajj, the world’s largest annual gathering of people, has been the scene of numerous deadly stampedes, fires and riots in the past.
Safety during Hajj is a politically sensitive issue for the kingdom’s ruling Al Saud dynasty, which presents itself internationally as the custodian of its holiest places in Mecca and Medina.
