Arab League: Iran's Leader's Remarks on Saudi Arabia are 'Aggressive and Shameful'

On Thursday, September 18, the foreign ministers of Arab League member countries condemned the positions of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and other officials against Saudi Arabia. According to reports, these ministers described Khamenei's recent remarks against Saudi Arabia as 'aggressive and shameful' and condemned them 'in the strongest terms' at the end of their extraordinary meeting in Cairo, Egypt. The statement emphasized that such words should not be 'uttered by the leader of a country.' On September 15, Ayatollah Khamenei, in a strongly worded message marking the annual Hajj ceremony, accused Saudi officials of killing the injured from the Mina incident, stating that 'the cruel and criminal men' of Saudi Arabia 'imprisoned the half-dead injured with the deceased in closed containers and instead of providing treatment and assistance or even bringing water to their thirsty lips, they caused their martyrdom.' He referred to Saudi leaders with terms such as 'small and despicable devils,' 'godless and heartless,' 'misguided,' 'black-faced,' 'sedition-makers,' 'ignorant of God,' 'tyrants,' and 'the accursed evil tree.' The Arab League's statement emphasized that the words of the Iranian leader 'have no relation to the truth and what the Saudi Kingdom, led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, does for Islam and Muslims and in serving pilgrims and Umrah performers.' The statement added that based on the logic of 'respect for countries,' it is only Saudi Arabia that has the 'authority to organize the affairs of Hajj and serve God's guests' 'without foreign interference.' The Arab foreign ministers also expressed their opposition to what they called 'the use of Islamic obligations to create sectarian disputes for the purpose of achieving specific political goals during the Hajj season.' They described Iran's 'accusations and claims' as 'malicious' and 'contrary to Islamic values,' adding that such behavior 'is also in contradiction with the policy of good neighborliness and does not help build constructive relations among Islamic countries.' Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry reacted to the Arab League's statement, saying that their support 'could soon entrap these countries in Riyadh's destabilizing policies.' According to Iranian news agencies, Bahram Qasemi added: 'If this council is sincere in its desire to help peaceful coexistence among the countries of the region and has a serious will to create convergence and strengthen good neighborliness in the region, it is essential to once and for all abandon its unconstructive support for Riyadh.' Last year, during the Hajj ceremony, several hundred pilgrims, most of whom were Iranian, were killed in Mina. This incident sparked outrage in Iran. The Associated Press reports that based on estimates it has made, 2,426 people were killed in the Mina incident, which was caused by pilgrims being trampled. Of this number, 464 were Iranian. Saudi Arabia has only acknowledged the deaths of 769 people and added that 934 were injured. Riyadh has yet to publish any report on possible investigations conducted in this regard. Last December, Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shia cleric named Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr on terrorism charges. Following this action, dozens of Iranian protesters attacked and set fire to the Saudi embassy and consulate in Tehran and Mashhad. This incident led Saudi Arabia and several of its allies to sever relations with Iran. Following these disputes, Tehran and Riyadh could not agree on the protocol regulating Hajj, which is why this year Iranian pilgrims were unable to perform their rituals.