First Hajj Stampede Victims Arrive Back In Iran

Should Iran gain US consent-by-silence as a further reward for its “good intentions” and establish itself in the territory bordering the Israeli Golan Heights while it seeks to “liberate Jerusalem”, it will prove yet another obstacle for Turkey in addition to Assad and the Russians.

Tehran has blamed the incident on Saudi “mismanagement”.

Khani: Well this year’s hajj will go down surely in history as maybe one of the most tragic, the saddest, most sorrowful and somehow with the deadliest year in the history of hajj. How that happened, though, remains to be determined.

Kudos should be given to Saudi Arabia where due.

All in all, once again, what is unfolding before the world is yet another Saudi-Iranian confrontation.

Around 102 Pakistani nationals are still believed to be missing since the disaster. Moreover, the Saudi government is the responsible authority. But Gulf State Analytics senior advisor Theodore Karasik says that will not be enough to appease an incensed Iran.

A few analysts argued that Rouhani was not seeking normalization of ties. But it is yet to be seen whether the full report is made public.

Saudi Arabia may well self-induce global criticism as it tries to downplay any fault.

At least 300 people died when a fire fueled by high winds swept through Mina’s tent city during Hajj in 1997. If the USA focuses exclusively on the agreement and does not test opportunities for collaboration with Iran on other issues, it may miss a historic opportunity to reshape relations with the Islamic Republic, as well as to usher in a new political and security order in the Middle East as a whole. This caused pilgrims to trip, rapidly resulting in a lethal stampede.

Riyadh is said to still be angry about a Russian veto on a 2012 UN Security Resolution calling for Mr Assad to step down, drafted by the Saudis and backed by Western powers. “I find the aggressive attitude towards Saudi Arabia incorrect”. They must know that such incidents are possible during the pilgrimage, which draws in around 2.5 million people.

In his state of the world address to leaders from the U.N.’s 193 member states, Ban says “innocent Syrians pay the price of more barrel bombs and terrorism” and there must be no impunity for “atrocious” crimes.

Several fatal incidents were in the pilgrim tent city. Lebanon’s Hezbollah Shi’ite militia openly fights on behalf of Assad’s government, and the Quds Force, part of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, is also widely believed to be aiding Damascus. State-of-the-art radio frequency identification (RFID) bus and vehicle trackers, biometric ID cards and CCTV cameras also were introduced to prevent non-registered pilgrims from gaining access.

The ambassador said that it is not in the interest of finding the truth, to listen to the malicious rumours or being behind speculations by persons that are not aware of facts and only aim at misleading the public opinion.

“Real believers in Iran’s revolution and its pillars and followers of our late leader (Ayatollah Ruhollah) Khomeini will never accept it”. More fundamentally, Obama’s statement placed Iran on the right side of the equation: Iranian leaders are the “good folks” battling terrorism. He has said civil defense authorities would announce future totals as Saudi authorities continue to investigate the cause of the disaster.