Iran’s Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati says Saudi Arabia is not cooperative in issues relating to Hajj pilgrimage.
Talking to reporters Monday morning, he said the Saudi government has kept sabotaging in the process of talks about Hajj in the past few months.
He explained that Iranian officials were as a routine obliged to travel to Saudi Arabia to make the necessary preparations for Hajj like signing deals about pilgrims accommodations while they have not received their visas to go there so far.
The minister said this was the first time ever for an Iranian delegation to receive visas for Saudi Arabia via a third country.
Noting that Saudi officials have been negative towards the issue, he said they are sabotaging the process of Iranian flights which are to carry Iranian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia and refuse to issue visas.
This is while, the minister went on to stress, Iran has already stressed that the Swiss Embassy in Tehran as the Saudi Arabian interest section in Iran, has to issue the visas without need for Iranians to go to a third country for their Saudi visas.
This is categorically unacceptable for Iran, Jannati said.
He said Iran’s Hajj Organization has been assigned to vividly communicate Iran’s conditions to Saudi officials and tell them that the Hajj pilgrimage is to take place only when Iran’s demands are met.
Though late by now, Jannati stressed, Iran is still trying not to miss this year’s Hajj.
An Iranian delegation led by Saeed Ohadi, Head of Iran's Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization held talks with the Saudi minister of Hajj in a meeting on Thursday.
Issues such as visa requirements and security of the Iranian pilgrims were among topics discussed.
Last year, 64,000 Iranian pilgrims were sent to Saudi Arabia.
The stampede in Mina took the lives of 461 Iranian pilgrims.
Relations between Tehran and Riyadh deteriorated following an attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
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