Iran's Hajj Organization Office in Saudi Arabia to Reopen

The representative of the Supreme Leader for Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs announced the reopening of the Iranian Hajj Organization's office in Saudi Arabia in the near future and stated that gatherings and programs for Iran will be held as before during Hajj. According to the Hajj news agency, Ali Qazi Askar made this statement during his first meeting with the staff of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization in the year 1396 (2017). Qazi Askar referred to some details of the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, noting that the reopening of the Iranian Hajj Organization's office in Saudi Arabia is one of its clauses. He added that based on this agreement, the presence of more than 80,000 Iranians at this year's Hajj has been confirmed. This official also mentioned that 'the agreement reached allows for gatherings and prayer ceremonies at the accommodation of Iranian pilgrims as before.' Qazi Askar expressed hope that this agreement would be 'a good starting point for future issues in the field of Hajj to proceed through understanding.' He also stated, 'If the Saudi side performs well in the upcoming Hajj and adheres to the agreed terms without any issues, God willing, the way for Umrah will also be opened.' Tensions in Iran-Saudi relations had halted the dispatch of Iranian pilgrims to Hajj last year, but the two countries resumed negotiations for the presence of pilgrims in early autumn this year and reached an agreement in Esfand (March) of the previous year. This year's Hajj ceremony will take place in late summer 1396 (2017). In the 1395 (2016) Hajj, for the first time in nearly three decades, Iranian pilgrims, estimated at 64,000, did not attend. Political tensions between officials of the two countries, the Mina tragedy, attacks on the Saudi embassy and consulate in Tehran and Mashhad, and the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia, were among the influential factors in the suspension of Iranian pilgrim dispatch last year. Iranian officials have made extensive efforts over the past year to resume the dispatch of Iranian pilgrims to Hajj, which, according to Ali Qazi Askar, has been emphasized and insisted upon by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Qazi Askar also mentioned that the leader 'has always emphasized that Hajj must be conducted while maintaining our desired standards because Hajj is a religious obligation and cannot be suspended.' He added, 'We have always stated that we do not link the issue of Hajj to the political relations between the two countries because Hajj is a divine and religious obligation and a pillar of the faith.' The representative of the Supreme Leader for Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs also stated regarding the resolution of the victims of the Mina tragedy that Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to continue the work of the fact-finding committee to investigate the cause of this incident. He added, 'Our view has been that the Mina issue should be resolved through direct and mutual dialogue, and now this path is being opened, and God willing, through dialogue, our requests regarding the martyrs of Mina will also be realized.' Following the Mina tragedy in Mehr 1394 (September 2015), which resulted in the deaths of 465 Iranian pilgrims, Iran and Saudi Arabia could not reach an agreement on security measures and other issues between the two countries, and Tehran also refrained from sending Iranian pilgrims to the Hajj ceremony last year. In this context, Iran called for Saudi Arabia to take responsibility for the Mina incident.