Iran says won’t send Hajj pilgrims due to Saudi ‘obstacles’

"Performing the Hajj ritual this year is virtually impossible," Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati said on Sunday, Press TV reported.

“We were supposed to wait until today [Sunday], and pursue the case just in case Saudi authorities had addressed our areas of concern. Nevertheless, given the treatment that the Iranian delegation received during the two rounds of talks and the obstacles created by Saudis, it is basically impossible for Iranians to attend the Major Hajj this year,” Jannati told reporters in Tehran.

He added that Iran's Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization will release a statement on the matter today.

Jannati said the Iranian delegates were very concerned about the safety of Iranian pilgrims after last year's disaster in Mina, where about 4,700 people, including over 460 Iranian pilgrims, lost their lives. The minister said Tehran currently cannot provide Iranian pilgrims with diplomatic support in Saudi Arabia.

“My interpretation is that the Saudi government deliberately prevented Iranian citizens from attending this year's Hajj pilgrimage. It was hence necessary to clearly declare our stance,” Jannati stated.

On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari censured Riyadh for “wasting the time” for the Iranian pilgrims planning to perform the ritual this year.

He said the Saudi government is now tying Hajj to “political relations”.

Eight months after the last Hajj, Saudi Arabia has still not published a report into the disaster. Adding to Tehran's anger, King Salman was later quoted in state media as praising Saudi authorities for a "successful" Hajj.

Saudi Arabia's Hajj Ministry said on Saturday it had met a number of Iran's concerns but Iran's top Hajj official Saeed Ohadi said Riyadh was refusing to accept conditions to guarantee the dignity of Iranian pilgrims.

He said only six out of the 11 provisions, which were entirely against the dignity of Iranian pilgrims, had been removed but the rest remained intact due to the obstinacy of Saudi officials.

Ohadi, who returned to Tehran on Friday from the second round of negotiations in Saudi Arabia, said the Saudi delegation had revealed that it did not have the power to make the final decision on the disputed points, indicating other authorities in the Saudi government were dictating the terms.

Ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia have been tense since Tehran strongly condemned the kingdom's execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr in January.

Riyadh later severed diplomatic relations with Tehran following attacks on two Saudi missions in Iran by angry protesters.

Iran arrested some 100 people over the acts of transgression. Iranian officials also strongly condemned the violent demonstrations.