Abduction of Iranian Pilgrims in Mina; 'A Strengthening Hypothesis'

More than a month after the Mina incident in Mecca, which left hundreds dead, injured, and missing, the Deputy Minister for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance stated on Wednesday that the hypothesis of the abduction of missing Iranian pilgrims and their transfer outside Saudi Arabia is gaining strength as time passes. Hussein Nooshabadi, in an interview with Mehr News Agency about the latest follow-ups regarding the missing persons from the Mina incident, stated that despite diplomatic efforts and actions taken by the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, the status of 36 missing individuals remains unclear, and many ambiguities have arisen regarding them. Ehsan Mehrabi, a journalist and former parliamentary reporter in Germany, commented on the abduction hypothesis, saying: 'There have been precedents like the case of Mr. Shahram Amiri, which strengthens the claim of his abduction or the idea that he made contacts with American officials there, leaving a percentage of probability for it. After all, this could happen in Saudi Arabia.' On the other hand, Alireza Noori-Zadeh, a Middle East analyst in London, rejects the hypothesis of the abduction of some pilgrims in Mecca, stating: 'In my opinion, it is not true at all. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the incident that occurred there has been established. It was not a planned event to abduct a group and then have this happen. Therefore, it cannot be said that the Saudis came and selected specific individuals. The second point is that most of them came with passports that did not have their real names registered. Mr. Ghodnfar Roknabadi traveled to Saudi Arabia under the name Ghodnfar Asl or Aghdam. Roknabadi's name was not there. Therefore, when the Iranian government claimed that Mr. Roknabadi was missing, the Saudis said that such a person did not come to Hajj.' The Deputy Minister for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs added that if these pilgrims have been abducted, it indicates a weakness in Saudi Arabia's intelligence and security system or their cooperation with foreign services. He stated that it is unlikely that a foreign intelligence service could enter this country and abduct pilgrims and take them out without the knowledge of Saudi officials and intelligence forces. Ehsan Mehrabi noted: 'Iranian Foreign Ministry officials have made contradictory statements in the past regarding this matter. Most of the discussions raised about it may also be somewhat influenced by the political atmosphere. Previously, Mr. Qashqavi, the Deputy Foreign Minister, announced that during a visit to the site, the likelihood of this issue is very low, and if someone wants to do this, they might end up dead themselves.' However, Alireza Noori-Zadeh considers the possibility of the abduction of pilgrims by foreign intelligence services to be impossible. 'Such an act is impossible. The city of Mecca is a city where no non-Muslim is allowed to enter. There is a legal and religious prohibition. Therefore, the claim that Mossad agents or Western intelligence services came and abducted some officials of the Islamic Republic regime who traveled to Saudi Arabia under aliases is unacceptable and does not align with the realities we witness during Hajj.' The Associated Press reported that the number of casualties from various countries in the Mina incident was 2,177. Meanwhile, Saudi officials announced two days after the incident that 769 people were killed and 934 injured, and they have not changed their statistics since. Iranian media reported at least 465 Iranian casualties in the Mina incident. Hussein Nooshabadi, referring to the 36 missing Iranian pilgrims, stated that among the missing were both ordinary pilgrims and several officials and political and diplomatic figures, and according to him, no clear answers have been provided by the Saudi government regarding the missing individuals, leaving them shrouded in ambiguity. Ehsan Mehrabi commented: 'Given that the political relations between the two countries are currently tense, such statements are naturally somewhat a result of political conflicts, and it is unclear what happens during the execution.' Alireza Noori-Zadeh stated in this regard: 'The relations between the two countries are at their worst. After the Islamic Republic's interventions in Yemen and the start of Saudi military operations in Yemen, these relations have worsened day by day. Particularly after the Mina incident and before that, the incident of a propaganda tower falling, the Islamic Republic began to suggest that the Saudi government intentionally did these things, and now on one hand, Mr. Qazi Asgar Amir al-Hajj thanks the Saudis, while Iran's Minister of Health claims they are cooperating the most, and political bodies say the opposite. The bodies are in the morgue. Many of the corpses have not been identified due to compression and the weather unless their DNA is taken, which takes a long time. At the same time, no one wants to hide those who were killed there because, after all, the Saudis want to get rid of the aftermath of the incident as soon as possible.' The Deputy Minister for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance also stated that we expect the Saudi government to pay attention to our demands with respect to diplomatic principles, as according to him, more than a month has passed since the incident, and there is still no clear answer regarding the missing persons in the Mina incident.