Iranian Commander Slams Saudi Regime for Hajj Tragedy
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami said it is no surprise that the Saudi government, which lacks the capacity to even handle its internal affairs, fails to manage the Hajj pilgrimage.
Speaking in a ceremony in Tehran on Sunday, Brigadier General Salami pointed to a recent crush in Mina, near Mecca, which led to the deaths of about 2,000 Hajj pilgrims, including 155 Iranians, saying that Riyadh lacks the capability to run the Hajj rites.
“It is natural for a regime, which lacks the capacity to manage its current (internal) affairs…, to have no more power to manage the massive Hajj (pilgrimage),” he noted.
The Iranian commander likened the tragic incident to a weapon of mass destruction, saying it turned God’s safest land into the most insecure place in the world.
About 2000 pilgrims were killed in the Thursday crush in Mina when performing religious rites. With the death toll rising, many pilgrims are still unaccounted for in the incident that marked the worst Hajj disaster in 25 years.
So far, 155 Iranian pilgrims have been pronounced dead and more than a hundred others are confirmed to have been wounded in the disaster. This is while over 300 Iranians have gone missing.
The incident came nearly two weeks after tens of Hajj pilgrims were killed in another tragic incident in Mecca.
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.
Hajj, the world’s largest annual gathering of people, has already witnessed numerous deadly crushes, 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.
