Delay in Transfer of 87 Victims' Bodies from Mina to Iran Again

ISNA reported that the transfer of the bodies of 87 Iranian victims of the 'Ramy Jamarat' incident in Mina has been delayed for the second time due to 'time-consuming legal procedures,' and officials from the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization have not yet announced a specific time for the transfer of these bodies. According to Saeed Ohadi, the head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, the bodies were supposed to be transferred to Iran on Saturday, October 10, but the transfer has been postponed due to 'time-consuming legal procedures.' Initially, these bodies were scheduled to be transferred early Friday morning, but for a similar reason, their transfer was postponed to Saturday. According to ISNA, officials from the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization have not yet announced a specific time for the transfer of these bodies to Iran. According to the Iranian Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, 464 Iranian pilgrims were killed in the 'Ramy Jamarat' incident in Mina that occurred on October 2, and the fate of 67 Iranian pilgrims remains unknown. The head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization previously stated that this organization has the bodies of 397 Iranian victims of this incident, of which 308 have been transferred to Iran. Mr. Ohadi also reported the burial of about 1,400 victims of the Mina incident in Mecca and expressed 'hope' that none of the Iranian victims have been buried in Mecca. The issue of transferring the bodies of this year's Hajj victims to Iran has been a point of contention between Iran and Saudi Arabia, with Iran stating that no families of the deceased Iranian pilgrims are satisfied with their loved ones being buried in Mecca. Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, on October 8, accused Saudi officials of failing to fulfill their responsibilities and transferring the bodies to Iran, threatening that if Iran were to react, the response would be harsh and severe. Ultimately, officials from both countries announced that they had reached an agreement for the transfer of the bodies of Iranian victims of this incident. Previously, some Iranian media suggested that some Iranian pilgrims may have been arrested by Saudi police after the Mina incident, but this was denied by a representative of Ayatollah Khamenei in Hajj affairs. Meanwhile, Mehdi Hosseini, an advisor to the Iranian Foreign Ministry's Arab and African Affairs Deputy, mentioned the release of two Iranians who had been arrested by Saudi police, stating that their arrest was unrelated to the Mina incident and that they were detained for 'filming' prior to the incident. He also announced that Ghazanfar Roknabadi, Iran's former ambassador to Lebanon, remains among the missing from the Mina incident, and there is no information available about his status.