Ex- Iranian envoy to Lebanon confirmed dead in hajj stampede

Iran’s Supreme Leader on Wednesday kept up the verbal broadsides against Saudi Arabia, threatening it with “tough and harsh” retaliation because Iranian stampede victims weren’t being repatriated swiftly enough. Interior Ministry spokesperson Major General Mansour Turki said police do not close the main pilgrimage routes and no vehicles had passed in areas near the crush any time after early Thursday morning. In May, an Iranian boat headed to the rebel-controlled Red Sea port of Hodeida with 2,500 tonnes of aid was diverted to Djibouti following warnings from the coalition and the United States.

“I think what Iran has said contradicts the principle of sovereignty and lack of interference in others’ affairs”, he said.

Iran’s supreme leader called on the armed forces on Thursday to increase their capabilities in order to protect the Tehran’s influence in the Middle East and deter would-be attackers.

Iranian Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization issued a statement accounting the total number of Iranian pilgrims killed and injured in the tragic incident of Mina.

Indonesia, the most populous Muslim state, claims their officials had to wait for nearly three days before they were granted access to their citizens who were killed or injured, according to the Associated Press. “Therefore, it does not encroach upon the rights of any human beings and nations, both Muslim and non-Muslim”, he added.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has denied a report by the Saudi-funded Al-Arabiya news network that Roknabadi had traveled to Saudi Arabia under a fake name because there was no official record of his arrival in the kingdom to perform the hajj rituals.

Tehran has accused its regional rival Saudi Arabia of hindering its efforts to bring home the bodies.

Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat quoted a Saudi official who liaised with the Iranian Hajj mission as saying that 300 Iranian pilgrims did not stop at their designated tents last Thursday morning and instead marched in the opposite direction from where the main body of pilgrims was walking, causing the crush.

Khamenei also lashed out Sunday at Saudi Arabia over the Mina deaths.

In the past couple of years – and with the wars in Iraq, Syria and Yemen – the already-strained relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia has been worsening.

On Wednesday, Saudi and Iranian officials also reportedly agreed to repatriate Iranian pilgrims killed in the stampede.

Rana Rahimpour of the BBC Persian says the Iranians accuse the Saudis of trying to cover up the scale of the disaster.