The Ministry of Haj and Umra, KSA, formerly named the Ministry of Haj, has detailed the steps taken to help Iranian pilgrims perform the Hajj this year, despite a lack of diplomatic relations between KSA and Iran. The ministry has also stressed that KSA rejects the politicisation of Hajj rituals.
The KSA government has left the door open to negotiations from Iran to date. It details that the Iranian Organization for Haj and Visits had refused to sign minutes to conclude arrangements of Iranian pilgrims for 2016 on May 12, 2016. The Ministry of Haj and Umra, in compliance with the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al- Saud and his government, subsequently responded to the desire of the Chairman of Iranian Organization of Haj and Visits and his accompanying delegation to sign the minutes in KSA to conclude Hajj arrangements for Iranian pilgrims in 2016.
"The ministry formally received the delegation and provided them with all facilities, including enabling them to perform umrah. After that, continuous meetings were held on 25 to 26 May 2016. The two sides dealt with all topics that have been discussed in previous meetings," noted the KSA ministry in a statement dated 27 May.
The Ministry of Haj and Umra's suggestions included:
-Issuing visas electronically from inside Iran in accordance with the mechanism agreed with the Saudi Foreign Ministry
-Transporting pilgrims on an equal basis between the Saudi national carrier and the Iranian national carrier.
-Approving the Iranian request by letting it to be diplomatically represented through the Swiss embassy in order to take care of Iranian pilgrims' interests. It was immediately coordinated with the competent authorities for implementation.
"However, at dawn on Friday May 27, 2016, the Iranian mission expressed its desire to head home without signing the minutes of arrangements of the Iranian pilgrims' affairs. Accordingly, the Ministry of Haj and Umra underscores that the mission of the Iranian Haj and Visits Organization which refused to sign the minutes of arrangements for Iranian pilgrims for the year 2016, will be held accountable before Allah Almighty and its people for the Iranian citizens' failure to perform Hajj this year," the statement adds.
Interested?
Read the Suroor Asia blog post about the Ministry of Haj's overview of Hajj 2016
Read the blog post about Haj and Umrah magazine, and on the meeting between the Ministry of Haj, KSA and the Indonesian delegation