Iranian VP Underlines Role of Hajj in Promotion of Muslim Countries’ Ties
Speaking at a meeting of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Supreme Council in Tehran on Saturday, he said Hajj can play an effective and constructive role in the promotion of relations among Muslim countries.
Jahangiri, who presided over the meeting, also stressed the role of Hajj and pilgrimage in advancing spirituality in society.
Also speaking was Head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization Ali Reza Rashidian who briefed the meeting about his recent trip to Saudi Arabia and talks with Saudi officials on Iranian pilgrims’ participation in the 2019 Hajj.
He said a memorandum of understanding has been signed between the two sides on issues related to Iranians’ Hajj pilgrimage.
Iran sent 86,000 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for Hajj in 2018. In 2017 some 85,000 Iranians made the pilgrimage.
A year earlier, 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 24, 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.
