Gulf Arab States: Iran Wants to Politicize Hajj

Gulf Arab states reacted to a message from the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic regarding the Hajj rituals, accusing Iran of trying to politicize these rituals. The leaders of the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries issued a statement on Wednesday, September 8, calling Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's remarks, which accused Saudi Arabia of the deaths of about 2,300 pilgrims during last year's Hajj, 'ugly and disgusting.' In his annual message regarding the Hajj, Khamenei launched a severe attack on the Saudi rulers and urged Islamic countries to 'think fundamentally about managing Hajj.' He referred to the Mina incident during last year's Hajj, which resulted in the deaths of over two thousand pilgrims, stating that Saudi officials 'confined the semi-conscious injured with the deceased in closed containers and instead of treatment and help or even providing water to their thirsty lips, they led them to martyrdom.' However, Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, rejected these accusations, describing the Supreme Leader's statements as 'a desperate attempt to politicize Hajj.' According to Al-Zayani, the Gulf Arab states dismiss the 'unjust claims' that Iranian officials regularly make against Saudi Arabia. He ultimately stated that such claims are 'completely contrary to the values and teachings of Islam, which emphasize brotherhood, love, and compassion.' Khamenei's message previously provoked a reaction from Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, who claimed that Iranians are not 'Muslims at all.' In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif labeled him 'racist' and stated that 'there is really no similarity between the Islam of Iranians' and the 'Wahhabi Mufti's' Islam of Saudi Arabia.