Saudi Govt Mourns Hajj Stampede Victims

An official repatriation ceremony is slated to be held on Saturday morning at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and a number of high-ranking officials attending the service.

The Iranian state news agency IRNA published a list Thursday night of the 465 pilgrims it said died at Mina.

State media reported that the recent Hajj stampede during the pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia and the Iranian death toll has jumped above 450. On 30 September, Saudi Arabia said it intercepted an Iranian arms shipment to Yemeni rebels, who are fighting a war against a Saudi-led coalition.

Rouhani was speaking in ceremonies marking the transfer of bodies of 104 Iranian pilgrims killed.

But most countries, especially if they are Muslim, hardly speak up against the KSA, to ask for better measures to be taken during the annual Hajj. It has also accused Riyadh of a coverup, saying the real death toll exceeds 4,700, without providing evidence to support its claim.

“The future of the country is in the hands of its youth, who must recognize their strength and help tomorrow’s Iran be more capable, powerful, and influential in the region and the world“, Khamenei said. Suffering the highest loss at 239 and with 241 more still missing, Iran has lashed out at the authorities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

It was the second major accident involving massive casualties in Saudi Arabia in this year’s Hajj season. 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.

Speaking on the sidelines of a military meeting on Saturday, the senior commander underlined that the IRGC enjoys “all possible capacities for Iran’s rapid and tough reaction” to Al Saud and for obliging the monarchy to accept responsibility for the bad disaster. Egypt has 126 dead and 110 missing, and Indonesia has 91 dead.

Toll of Pakistani pilgrims martyred in Mina stampede has reached 57 with 100 still missing, Prime Minister’s Focal Person Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said here Friday.