Good Performance of Hajj Servants Appreciated At Meeting of Hajj and Pilgrimage Planning Council in Mecca/ Iranian Pilgrims Will Start Returning to Their Homeland From Tomorrow

At the beginning of this meeting, Hojjat al-Islam Navvab congratulated the upcoming holidays, including Eid al-Adha, Ghadir Khum, and the birth anniversary of Imam Hadi (AS), and congratulated the Hajj and Pilgrimage officials on their success in organizing the desired Hajj 1404 and winning the “Labitam” award for the first time, and noted that the main success of the pilgrims’ servants is the satisfaction of the Great Imam of the Time (AS), but winning such an award in the host country’s program is also the result of the efforts of all the pilgrims’ servants and the desired role of the pilgrims of the glorious Islamic Iran.

He continued: "The servants of the pilgrims of Islamic Iran received the award despite facing cruel sanctions for forty years, and despite that, they present valuable innovations every year; but other countries do not have similar conditions. Therefore, we hope that the award system will be updated in the coming years and will also pay attention to the characteristics of the country so that the successes and achievements of the country's Hajj officials can be seen more realistically."

The head of Iranian pilgrims emphasized that if the efforts of the servants of the pilgrims are considered and approved by the Imam of the Time (AS), no medal can match it.

Hojjat al-Islam Navvab also honored the memory of the deceased Iranian pilgrims and emphasized the necessity of transferring their bodies to the country, saying: "Except for the group of deceased whose families are satisfied with burial in the country hosting the Hajj, follow-up should be carried out for the other deceased so that burial is not carried out without the consent of the family and their bodies are returned to their homeland.

Dr. Bayat, the head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, continued the meeting by considering the highest medal for the servants of the pilgrims as serving the pilgrims and guests of the Most Gracious, and said: "This honor is not equal to any other medal."

In another part of the meeting, Mr. Akbar Rezaei, the deputy head of Hajj and Umrah of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, presented a report on the Hajj operations, especially the days of Tashreeq, and said: The operation to transport the pilgrims in the holy places (Arafat, Masha'ar al-Haram and Mina) was carried out according to the schedule and in an orderly and smooth manner.

In detail, he stated: "102 buses transported our country's Sunni pilgrims from Mecca to Arafat from 6:00 to 11:00 am on the eighth day of Dhu al-Hijjah (the day of Tarawih). The transfer of Iranian Shiite pilgrims was also carried out by 687 buses from 11:00 am to 23:30, and a total of 70,581 Iranian pilgrims were transported to Arafat. Also, the transfer operation from Mina to Arafat for Sunni pilgrims was carried out with 77 buses, the transfer from Arafat to Mina and Mashar al-Haram with 487 buses, and the transfer from Mina to Mecca with 336 buses, and fortunately, no special problems occurred in these transfers."

Mr. Rezaei mentioned the performance of the stoning on the day of Eid al-Adha in the early morning, the effective presence of pilgrim guides in Arafat, Mina and the route of the Jamarat, the provision of sufficient mobile internet in the mosques, and the appropriate and timely transfer of pilgrims from Mecca to Arafat and Mina as the strengths of this year's Hajj operation, adding: "Improvable issues have also been identified and, God willing, will be followed up to improve the operation next year."

He also announced that at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, the first group of "Medina Next" pilgrims left for Medina from Mecca, and the first flight of pilgrims from Jeddah to Tehran will take place at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the first flight from Taif Airport to Iran will also take place at 12:30 on Wednesday.

According to the Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, flights from Jeddah Airport to Iran will end on Tir 6, 1404, Medina Airport on Tir 10, 1404, and Taif Airport on Tir 4, 1404.

In another part of the meeting, Mr. Hossein Esmaili, Director of Inspection of the Supreme Leader's Mission, presented a report on the inspections carried out and emphasized: "Evaluations show that the performance of the Hajj Headquarters during this year's Tashreeq days was better than in previous years, but there are still areas for improvement in the performance of some companies in the host country that need to be followed up."

Congratulating him on receiving the "Labitem" award for the first time, he noted: "If the criteria for granting this award become more precise and technical, Iran's position will definitely be much higher than the current situation."

After presenting Mr. Esmaili's report, Hojjat al-Islam Navvab emphasized the need to closely follow up on contracts with host companies and to protect the rights of Iranian pilgrims.

Dr. Bayat also reminded that planning for next year's Hajj should be done as soon as possible and that companies that do not provide complete services should be replaced with better and competing companies.

Dr. Marashi, head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Medical Center of the Red Crescent Organization, also presented a report on the process of providing health and medical services to pilgrims in this meeting and said: Since the beginning of the Hajj 1404 operation, a total of 182,600 visits have been made by doctors present in the land of revelation, of which 151,000 were general visits and 31,620 were specialized visits.

According to him, since the beginning of the Hajj operation 1404, 369 pilgrims have been hospitalized in Iranian Red Crescent hospitals and clinics in Mecca and Medina, and 169 pilgrims have been hospitalized in hospitals in the host country. Currently, 14 Iranian pilgrims are in hospitals in the host country and 49 are hospitalized in clinics and Iranian hospitals.

The head of the Red Crescent Hajj and Pilgrimage Medical Center added: With the death of an Iranian pilgrim this morning in Mecca, the number of people who died in this year's Hajj has reached 17.

Mr. Kianbakhsh, representative of the Iranian Consulate, also said in the meeting: In order to transfer the bodies of deceased Iranian pilgrims to the country, two notes have been sent by the country's diplomatic service to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the host country.

In another part of the meeting, Hojjat al-Islam Seyed Hossein Rokneddini, Deputy Cultural Director of the Supreme Leader's Mission, presented a report on various cultural programs during the Hajj 1404 season and discussed the details of holding the Ons and Marifat ceremonies, Ons and Marifat with the Holy Quran, Narratives, Hajj conferences in the thoughts of the Supreme Leader, meetings of cultural servants, conferences of pilgrims' helpers, honoring the families of martyrs, meetings with teenagers and young people, meetings with young pilgrim couples.

He also noted that the various ceremonies in Hajj 1404 were held more coherently and extensively than in previous years, and in addition to the Supreme Leader's mission tent, they were also held simultaneously in 57 other complexes in the Arafat desert so that all interested parties could participate in these various ceremonies.

Mr. Ghorbanali, a representative of the Civil Aviation Organization, also presented a report on the return flight schedule for Iranian pilgrims at this meeting and said: "All the necessary preparations and arrangements have been made for the return so that, God willing, the flights will be carried out without problems and on time from the airports of Medina, Jeddah and Taif."

He predicted that, God willing, the return flights will also be carried out in a satisfactory and peaceful manner like the departure. Also, special measures have been devised for the transfer of patients and the return flight operations will begin tomorrow.

According to Mr. Ghorbanali, bottles of Zamzam water will also be delivered to our country's pilgrims in Iran as promised.