Iran gathering evidence on Mina tragedy: Intelligence Minister

Iranian Intelligence Minister said on Mon. the Islamic Republic has so far held various sessions on pursuing the Mina tragedy during which the Ministry of Intelligence has become required to collect documentation to probe into the cause of the incident.

Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi made the remarks on Monday at a funeral service held in the southern city of Shiraz in Fars Province for a number of the Iranian pilgrims that were killed in the Mina tragedy near the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

He added the Intelligence Ministry has begun its work to determine whether the incident had been deliberate or not.

“The Mina incident is not an issue that only Iran is concerned with, but rather it is a key issue for the world of Islam and 22 mourning Islamic countries,” said Alavi, adding the tragedy has an ‘international dimension’ that Iran and other Islamic nations must work together to pursue.

“The vice president for legal affairs is also making arrangements to file a lawsuit with international legal entities on behalf of the bereaved families of the victims to urge proper action on the tragic event,” the intelligence minister said.

Alavi further criticized Saudi authorities’ incompetence and imprudence for failing to show a proper response to the Mina incident which had subsequently worsened the depth of the tragedy, saying if the Saudi government had cooperated with Muslim nations in tending to the injured and identifying the victims’ bodies, it could have lessened the extent of the tragedy and the Muslims’ outrage.

“The Leader’s strong stance in regard to the Mina incident was the turning point which forced Saudi officials to express their condolences to the Iranian nation,” said Alavi.

Last week, Iran’s Leader Ayat. Khameni said the country’s possible response to Saudi misconduct and disrespect toward Iranian pilgrims and victims will be "firm and severe."

The human crush of September 24 in Mina, Saudi Arabia, during the Hajj pilgrimage rituals, claimed lives of about 4,700 people, including 464 Iranians, according to Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization.



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