The delay in initiating the administrative procedures for Hajj Tamattu has reached four months, yet Saudi Arabian officials have not responded to Iran’s requests. Some media outlets attribute the insistence of Iranian officials to send pilgrims to financial issues and interests.
Following attacks on the embassy and consulates of Saudi Arabia in Tehran and Mashhad, the country severed its diplomatic relations with Iran, and the already tense relations between the two nations became more critical.
This crisis has also affected Iranian pilgrims who intend to travel to Saudi Arabia. The Deputy Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance and Head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization says Saudi Arabia continues to refuse to respond to Iran’s requests.
The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported on Thursday (April 28) that Saeed Owhadi stated: “At this point, we are four months behind in the implementation of Hajj operations compared to last year.”
Visa Problem
It was planned that in the final days of Farvardin, a delegation from Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization would travel to Saudi Arabia to negotiate with officials to resolve some of the problems facing Iranian pilgrims.
Owhadi had previously told IRNA: “The April 15 meeting, after a three-month delay by Saudi Arabia to sign a memorandum of understanding, will be held, and certainly at this meeting, which will be attended by relevant officials and experts, a final determination will be made.”
Today’s statements by the Deputy Minister of Culture indicate that the Saudi government continues to evade responding to Iran’s requests.
The head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization said: “Regarding how to issue visas and how pilgrims can benefit from consular services in case of potential problems, which are among our red lines, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj has given no response.”
Four Months Delay in Planning
Ali Jannati, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, on the thirty-first of Farvardin accused Saudi Arabia of obstruction in the path of sending Iranian pilgrims to Mecca and listed examples of these obstacles.
According to reports, the necessity of requesting a visa in a third country and imposing restrictions on some Iranian airlines in transporting pilgrims are among the matters Jannati referred to.
Saudi Arabia, about three weeks ago, revoked the landing permission for aircraft of the Iranian company “Mahan Air” at its airports or passage through its airspace due to what it called non-compliance with “air transport security.”
Owhadi told IRNA: “We need sufficient time to make preparations for housing contracts, ground and air transport, provisions, and especially for the contract related to the Days of Tashreeq (the rituals of Mina and Arafat), but unfortunately, since the Saudi government has not responded so far, we have practically entered the critical timeline for implementing Hajj operations.”
Saudi Arabia’s Conditions for Iranian Pilgrims
This delay has occurred while Iranian pilgrims who are in the queue for Hajj Tamattu this year must pay their travel expenses in two installments in Farvardin and Ordibehesht.
The head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization said: “We tried through negotiation to resolve issues and problems regarding this year’s Tamattu so that the Hajj obligation is performed for Iranian pilgrims while preserving their dignity and honor, but the Saudi government has not responded to our conditions and red lines until today.”
He cited ensuring the security of Iranian pilgrims as one of these “red lines,” which it is unlikely Saudi Arabia would be willing to commit to specially.
Mistreatment of some Iranian pilgrims at Jeddah Airport and the killing of hundreds of Iranians in two incidents in Mina and Mecca are among the matters Saudi Arabia has not accepted responsibility for and disregards Iran’s requests regarding them.
Contrary to Owhadi’s statements about “preserving the dignity and honor” of Iranian pilgrims, some media outlets have reported that Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Hajj warned in a meeting with Iranian officials that pilgrims from this country must refrain from holding gatherings, chanting slogans, and praying loudly.
“Suspicious Insistence of Officials”
The news website “Tabnaks” on April 28 reported: “In circumstances where no way has yet been found to obtain a Saudi visa and the Saudis, along with their usual obstruction, disregard Iran’s proposed solutions to resolve the problem, the insistence of some officials on sending Iranian pilgrims to Hajj seems strange and even suspicious.”
“Tabnaks” referred to Owhadi’s statements in which he had stated the economic turnover of Iranian pilgrims’ Hajj travel as 4 trillion tomans and reported large investments in “very large projects in Saudi Arabia and Holy Shrines” which would result in economic failure if the travel of Iranian pilgrims stopped.
At the end of this report, it stated: “This is where this ambiguity is reinforced: could the insistence of officials of our country’s Hajj organization on sending Iranians to Tamattu, despite Saudi Arabia’s many obstructions, be to prevent the loss of Hajj economic turnover and prevent the failure of their economic program?!”
On the sixth of Ordibehesht, the head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization announced after initial negotiations with officials of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj that the memorandum of understanding between the two countries has not yet been finalized, and this organization is waiting for the Saudis to announce their solution regarding how to issue visas for pilgrims.
Ali Jannati described the atmosphere of the Hajj negotiations as “cold and authoritarian,” and Owhadi says Saudi Arabia has drawn up this year’s Hajj memorandum of understanding “unilaterally.”
