Iranian toll in Hajj stampede leaps above 450

Hours later, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continued Iran’s attacks on Saudi Arabia over its handling of the stampede near the holy city of Mecca, in which hundreds of pilgrims were killed.

Jeddah: After receiving criticism from all across the Muslim world for its unwarranted and unjustified anti-Saudi Arabia and sectarian propaganda following the tragic stampede in Mina, Iran praised Saudi Arabia’s rescue and medical efforts and acknowledged its services for Haj pilgrims.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has had respect for fraternity in the Islamic world up to now, showing self-restraint and Islamic politeness, Imam Khamenei said on Wednesday.

Iran had previously said 239 of its citizens were killed in the stampede, which took place on a street in the Mina neighborhood of Mecca as crowds of pilgrims walked to perform a ritual stoning of the devil.

A state television newscaster said missing Iranian pilgrims who remain unaccounted for are included in this latest toll.

Iran, a fierce rival of Saudi Arabia, has said that the country should be tried in an worldwide court over the tragedy.

Hashemi said that he and his Saudi counterpart Khaled al-Falih had struck a deal aimed at “speeding up the process, as the victims’ families are waiting” back at home, Agence France-Presse reported, citing Iran’s IRNA news agency.

The country should also learn from the tragedy given that it also witnessed other grisly occurrences in the past with 1990 being the worst when the pilgrimage claimed over 1400 Muslims.

The reason for the discrepancy was unclear and the Saudi health ministry could not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The organization says that 14 of the people who were injured in the deadly crush, are still receiving treatment in Saudi hospitals. Gen. Mansour al-Turki told the AP on Tuesday that the photos are of those who died during the entire pilgrimage from a variety of causes and not just at the disaster in Mina.

Two weeks ago, 110 people died in Mecca’s Grand Mosque when a crane working on an expansion project collapsed during a storm and toppled off the roof into the main courtyard, crushing pilgrims underneath. The statement, however, does not include the number of Iranians injured in the September 24 stampede.