Hajj Stampede: Saudi Arabia rejected Iran’s criticism

“Saudi authorities have released photos of 1,090 pilgrims who have died in (the hajj) stampede”, Swaraj wrote on Twitter.

At least 169 Iranian pilgrims died; 298 are unaccounted for, according to official Iranian news agency IRNA. Referring to the ruling family, he added: “They have to know that we will pursue the trial of Al-Saud for the crime they have committed against the hajj pilgrims through global courts and organisations”. “We, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, have a long history of expending tremendous resources to care for the pilgrimage and to ensure that the pilgrims can come and have an extremely successful pilgrimage”. While concluding he said that he hope Iranian leaders are more sensible and will wait until the enquiry is completed.

The stampede was the second tragedy at this year’s Hajj.

The fact that he used a United Nations summit meeting on global development goals to reiterate Iran’s outrage over the tragedy has been seen as a sign that Tehran does not intend to tone down the criticism of its regional rival.

Such suggestions are “frankly ridiculous”, columnist Rasheed Abou-Alsamh wrote in Sunday s Arab News, an English-language Saudi daily.

“Such reports are nothing to do with truth, and the emir did not make any such remarks about the incident to any local or foreign media outlets”, the Saudi Gazzette quoted him as saying.

Around 2 million Muslims from around the world took part in this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in the Saudi Kingdom, which concluded on Saturday. The crush happened when group of devotees had been making their way towards the Jamaraat Bridge, a large structure used by pilgrims for the “stoning of the devil” ritual, while other pilgrims were leaving when the crowds met on Thursday morning. Then it became chaotic and suddenly people started going down. Two Indonesian pilgrims were wounded. “People were stepped on by people”.

With the official deathtoll from the tragedy now at 769, Saudi officials stepped up security around the holy city of Mecca on Saturday in a bid to prevent further incidents.

A massive construction crane collapsed on Mecca s Grand Mosque several days before and killed 109 people, many of them pilgrims.

Haj is one of the five pillars of Islam that should be performed at least once in a lifetime by every Muslim who is financially and physically capable.