Khamenei's Representative at Hajj: Arrest of Pilgrims is Not True

The newspaper Javan has denied reports about the arrest of some Iranian pilgrims during the Mina incident, quoting the representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic in Hajj affairs, who stated: "The arrest and stranding of Iranian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia is not true." The news of the death of Hossein Hamadani, a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria, has been prominently featured on the front pages of most newspapers, with publications like Jam-e Jam, Resalat, Vatan-e Emruz, Javan, and Rouzan dedicating their front pages to him. Almost all newspapers have used the term "martyrdom" for Hossein Hamadani's death in Syria, while the newspaper Rouyesh-e Mellat has headlined: "Brigadier General Hossein Hamadani killed in Syria." Yadollah Javani, head of the political office of the IRGC during the 2009 elections and current advisor to the Supreme Leader's representative in the IRGC, referred to Hamadani as a "commander in the fight against terrorism" and simultaneously identified him as one of the commanders who suppressed the protests in 2009 in Iran. Javani noted that Hamadani "played a significant role as the commander of the IRGC in extinguishing the flames ignited by the seditionists in 2009," stating: "General Hamadani was a successful commander in the jihad against the seditionists in 2009." Iranian newspapers on Saturday published various assessments regarding the potential fate of the "JCPOA" in the upcoming session of the Islamic Consultative Assembly on Sunday. The government-aligned newspaper Iran reported on its front page that "the majority of the parliament is determined to approve the JCPOA," citing members of the National Security Commission. The newspaper Etemad also reported on its front page with the title "Sunday, the Conclusion," stating that "public anticipation and recommendations from national officials for concluding the legal discussion of the JCPOA in the upcoming parliament session have intensified." The newspaper Qanoon reported on its front page about "preparations for obstruction against the JCPOA," stating that "hardliners in parliament have envisioned plans for tomorrow, aiming to turn it into another dark Sunday." The newspaper Kayhan called for the rejection of the JCPOA in the parliament, stating: "Parliament should not fall into the pit of the JCPOA with a rotten rope of generalizations." The newspaper Bahar featured photos of Mahmoud Alavi, Minister of Intelligence, and Hassan Khomeini, grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, on its front page, reporting their remarks as "no to a security atmosphere." The newspaper Hamdeli dedicated its front page to Abdullah Javadi Amoli, a senior cleric from Qom, who stated a few days after his class was disrupted: "Embezzlement and mismanagement have broken the system's back." The newspaper Arman reported on flooding in Tehran and a storm in northern regions, stating: "The storm devastated Mazandaran in 5 minutes." The newspaper Shahre Vahdat reported on its front page, quoting the head of the Environmental Protection Organization, that "Iran ranks first in water stress in the world." This newspaper also emphasized that "Syria is burning in the fire of thirst," reporting severe water resource crises in war-torn areas of Syria. The newspaper Shahre Vahdat dedicated its front page to "the walk of women recovering from addiction in several parks in Darvazeh Ghar." The newspaper Shargh introduced Mehdi Shams as the "third person in the oil corruption triangle," referring to him as a collaborator of Babak Zanjani and Reza Zarrab. The front page of Shargh was dedicated to Ernesto Che Guevara, examining his influence on Iranian revolutionaries in the year of his death. The representative of Khamenei at Hajj stated: "The arrest and stranding of Iranian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia is not true." The newspaper Javan reported that Ali Qazi Asgar, the representative of the Supreme Leader in Hajj and Pilgrimage affairs, upon returning to Iran, announced that "as of now, 69 Iranian pilgrims are missing in the Mina tragedy," rejecting reports of the arrest and stranding of some Iranian pilgrims in Saudi hospitals and urging the public not to pay attention to these rumors. Ali Qazi Asgar emphasized that "he has visited all hospitals in Jeddah, Mecca, Mina, and Taif, and every injured person there has been identified and transferred to Red Crescent hospitals." He stated: "The news that has circulated in recent days about the arrest of some Iranian pilgrims and the stranding of some injured individuals in Saudi hospitals is absolutely false." The representative of the Supreme Leader in Hajj also mentioned that "all centers where it was suspected that the bodies of Iranian pilgrims were kept have been visited around the clock," and "it is possible that some of our dear ones may not be identified in the first stage and require specific tests," which is why "in negotiations with the Saudis, they agreed to send some experts from Saudi Arabia to Iran to identify these bodies within our country." According to the newspaper Javan, Ali Qazi Asgar has stated that these tests are being conducted because "the Iranian identity of these bodies is known to us, but their details are not." Hoorieh Maleki in her report for Javan reminded that following the Mina incident, "only Iran announced from the very beginning that the bodies of all its pilgrims must be identified and returned to their families in Iran, and for this reason, various groups were sent to Saudi Arabia to closely follow the matters." This newspaper, close to the IRGC, emphasized that "now, about 15 days after this tragedy, and based on the statements of Saudi officials, there are currently no unidentified injured individuals in the hospitals of this country," and these statements have been confirmed by the head of the Medical Center for Hajj and Pilgrimage of the Iranian Red Crescent, Ali Marashi, who stated: "Currently, there are no Iranian injured individuals hospitalized in Saudi hospitals, and last Thursday, the last injured Iranian pilgrims were transferred to the country." The head of the Medical Center for Hajj and Pilgrimage of the Iranian Red Crescent emphasized that "all hospitals in this country have been searched multiple times" regarding the aid provided to the injured on the first day of the Mina incident, stating: "In total, the ambulances of the Iranian Red Crescent transported over 400 injured individuals from the Mina tragedy to Saudi hospitals and the Iranian Red Crescent located in Mina." The newspaper Javan reported that in the Mina incident, 464 Iranian pilgrims lost their lives. Previously, some officials of the Islamic Republic and some media outlets had reported the possibility of the arrest or abduction of some high-ranking Iranian officials during the Mina incident, particularly mentioning Ghazmfar Rakat Abadi, the former ambassador of the Islamic Republic in Lebanon. However, now, fifteen days after the Mina incident, Ali Qazi Asgar, the representative of Ali Khamenei in Hajj and Pilgrimage affairs, who was present during the Hajj in Saudi Arabia, has denied the reports of "arrest and stranding of Iranian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia."