Iran Summons Saudi Envoy over Mina Crush for Third Time
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s foreign ministry on Saturday summoned Saudi Arabia’s charge d’affaires over a recent crush in Mina near Mecca that led to the deaths of about 2000 pilgrims, including 136 Iranians.
The Saudi envoy was summoned to the Iranian foreign ministry for the third time since the incident and received Tehran’s official protest over Riyadh’s failure to ensure security for Hajj pilgrims.
Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency earlier on Saturday, 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.
He also deplored as “not satisfactory” the process of handling the situation in Saudi Arabia following the deadly incident.
Nearly 2000 pilgrims were killed in the Thursday crush in Mina, Saudi Arabia, 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, 136 Iranian pilgrims have been pronounced dead and more than a hundred others have been wounded in the tragic event.
The accident 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.
