Iran to Outfit Hajj Pilgrims with Homegrown Electronic Bracelets
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj season will be kitted up with electronic bracelets to “avert possible problems”, an official said.
Head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization Hamid Mohammadi told Tasnim on Saturday that Iran Electronics Industries (known as SA-Iran at home) has designed and manufactured the bracelets and will also process data from the devices.
It “will be undoubtedly a great help to the (Hajj) pilgrims,” he said, adding that the bracelets will contribute to better services to the travelers and prevent possible troubles.
Mohammadi went on to say he believes that Iran is the first-ever country equipping its pilgrims with electronic bracelets with such extensive features.
Iran announced in mid-March that applicants can go on Hajj pilgrimage this year following negotiations with Saudi officials after a hiatus in the wake of a diplomatic row with the kingdom.
In 2016, more than 1.8 million pilgrims attended Hajj, but Iranians stayed at home after tensions between Riyadh and Tehran boiled over following a deadly crush of people during the 2015 pilgrimage.
On September 2, 2015, thousands of people lost their lives in the deadly crush after Saudi authorities blocked a road in Mina during a ritual, forcing large crowds of pilgrims to collide.
The crush was the deadliest incident in the history of the pilgrimage. According to an Associated Press count based on official statements from the 36 countries that lost citizens in the disaster, more than 2,400 pilgrims were killed in the incident.
Saudi Arabia claims nearly 770 people were killed, but officials at Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization say about 4,700 people, including over 460 Iranian pilgrims, lost their lives.