Hajj stampede: Iran death toll rises to 464

As per latest reports, more than a thousand people died and over 850 others were left injured when two large groups of pilgrims collided at a crossroads on their way to performing the ritual of Jamarat -“stoning of the devil”.

Hundreds of people are still unaccounted for a week after a hajj stampede killed hundreds more, with national tallies of the dead far exceeding figures provided by Saudi Arabia.

The Ministry also reportedly summoned the Saudi charge d’affaires on Wednesday, warning against any delay in identifying and repatriating missing and deceased Iranian pilgrims, Iran’s state-run Mehr News Agency said.

Iran claims that 4,000 people have been killed, while Nigeria and India, whose nationals were among the dead, said earlier this week that they had received photographs showing 1,090 corpses.

“The Ambassador while speaking on Eyewitness News said he will recommend to government to consider stopping senior citizens from going to Saudi Arabia saying “…this is one of my recommendations that I’m going to give to government at the end of the day”.

Saudi Arabia has not given any figures for the number of missing, or said whether any Saudis – who constitute a minority of pilgrims – were among the dead.

Saudi and Iranian health ministers agreed after days of fierce debate to repatriate Iranian pilgrims killed in the stampede.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (left) attends a graduation ceremony for Iranian Navy cadets in the northern city of Nowshahr, Iran, on September 30, 2015.

“We have shown self-restraint so far, but the Saudis should know Iran is more powerful and has more capabilities and they can not compete with us in any front”, he added.

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki insisted that those responsible for a deadly crush of Hajj pilgrims in Mina, Saudi Arabia, should be brought to justice.

That, and the fact that the incident occurred on the territory of Iran’s main regional nemesis, Saudi Arabia, which also happens to be allied with the Islamic Republic’s even greater nemesis, the United States, basically begs for a conspiracy theory or two.

“If [Iran] wants to react to disturbing and sinister elements, their situation will not be good”. However, Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Mansour al-Turki denied this telling the Associated Press that the photos include other people who died at the Hajj from natural causes, not just at the stampede.