Saudi Irresponsibility in Mina Disaster “Unacceptable”: Iranian Diplomat
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian reiterated that the responsibility for the deaths of Hajj pilgrims in Mina lies with the Saudi government, calling on Riyadh not to shift the blame onto destiny.
“The Saudis’ refusal to admit responsibility for the Mina disaster is unacceptable,” the top Iranian diplomat told Tasnim on Saturday.
His comments came following the deaths of hundreds of Hajj pilgrims in a Thursday crush in Mina outside the Saudi city of Mecca when performing religious rites.
Amir Abdollahian underlined that mismanagement of the Hajj rituals by those in charge should not be attributed to destiny.
He also deplored as “not satisfactory” the process of handling the situation in Saudi Arabia following the deadly incident.
The Iranian deputy minister noted that Saudi officials should fulfill their “humanitarian and Islamic responsibility” about the victims instead of trying to wrongly justify the negligence of their Hajj authorities.
He further noted that Tehran expects Riyadh to “expedite the process of determining the fate of the missing pilgrims and provide effective help in the immediate transfer of those killed and injured” in the tragedy.
With the death toll rising, many pilgrims are still unaccounted for in the incident that marked the worst Hajj disaster in years.
136 Iranian pilgrims have been pronounced dead so far, and more than a hundred others have been wounded.
Hajj, the world’s largest annual gathering of people, has already witnessed numerous deadly stampedes, fires and riots in the past.
Saudi authorities have come under fire for their inability to ensure the safety of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who converge on Mecca every year.
On September 11, a massive construction crane crashed into Mecca’s Grand Mosque in stormy weather, killing at least 107 people, including 11 Iranians, and injuring 201 others.