Iran to Legally Pursue Mina Tragedy: Spokesman
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Spokesman for the Iranian administration Mohammad Baqer Nobakht announced that the government will legally pursue the recent crush in Mina, which killed hundreds of Hajj pilgrims, including at least 464 Iranian nationals.
The coffins of 104 Iranian pilgrims killed in the tragic incident arrived draped in the Iranian flags at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport on Saturday morning.
Speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony held to receive the bodies at the airport, Nobakht expressed the hope that, after the first phase of the repatriation of bodies, the government would pursue the tragic disaster in an appropriate way using formal and informal means.
Tehran will legally defend the rights of those killed and wounded in the incident, he reiterated.
Thousands of people, including ranking officials, gathered at the airport today as the coffins were carried out of the aircraft.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, Supreme Leader’s Chief of Staff Hojatoleslam Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, the cabinet members and other senior officials attended the ceremony to pay tribute as the bodies returned home.
A total of 464 Iranians were killed in the deadly disaster in Mina, near Mecca, when performing religious rites on September 24.