Saudi Arabia said talks on Wednesday with visiting Iranian delegates on arrangements for Iranian Haj pilgrims have been “positive.”
Hussein Sharif, Haj and Umrah Ministry undersecretary, said the Kingdom “welcomes pilgrims from all around the world”. The two sides discussed “arrangements, as well as organization and services” for pilgrims, he told reporters after a session of talks.
He said an agreement had been reached following the arrival of the delegation Tuesday to “use electronic visas which could be printed out” by Iranian pilgrims, as Saudi diplomatic missions remain shut in Iran.
A final agreement would be signed at the end of the ongoing talks, he said.
“Directives concerning the air carrier will come from the Saudi civil aviation authority,” said Sharif.
A local media report said if the Iranian side agrees to the Saudi ministry’s stipulations, 63,000 visas would be issued for their pilgrims, the same as last year.
The Iranians had sought to have visas issued in Iran for their pilgrims. The Kingdom had stated that the visas would be issued from Dubai.
Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia intensified after the kingdom’s execution of prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr in January.
Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties and halted flights to and from Iran on January 3 following attacks on vacant Saudi diplomatic premises in Tehran and the city of Mashhad by angry people protesting Nimr’s execution.
More than 2,400 foreign pilgrims, including 464 Iranians, were crushed to death after two large masses of pilgrims converged at a crossroads in Mina, near the holy Saudi city of Mecca, during the symbolic ceremony of the stoning of Satan in Jamarat on September 24, 2015.
Last month, an Iranian delegation held four days of talks in Saudi Arabia aimed at thrashing out a deal, but with Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran closed and Iranian flights to the kingdom halted, they hit deadlock.
The issuance of visas and security arrangements for the Hajj have been two sticking points in the talks pertaining to this year’s rituals.
Saudi Arabia had said Iranian pilgrims should travel to a third country to obtain a visa. However, Iran has been insisting that Saudi Arabia issue visas through the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which has been looking after Saudi interests since Riyadh broke off ties.
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