Khamenei's Representative for Hajj: No Iranians Arrested in Mina Incident

The representative of Ayatollah Khamenei for Hajj and pilgrimage affairs in Iran stated that "the arrest or stranding of a number of Iranian pilgrims in Saudi hospitals is absolutely untrue." The Associated Press has reported that contrary to Saudi official statistics, more than 1,360 people died in the Mina incident. Ali Qazi Asgar, who returned to Tehran from Saudi Arabia on Thursday, October 8, told reporters at the airport that he had visited all hospitals in Jeddah, Mecca, Mina, and Taif, and every injured person there had been identified. According to ISNA news agency, he stated that so far, 69 Iranian pilgrims are missing in the Mina incident and urged the public not to pay attention to rumors. In recent days, officials from Hassan Rouhani's government, including the Minister of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education and the Legal Deputy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had said that some of the missing Iranian pilgrims were likely detained by Saudi security forces. In the Mina incident, which occurred on the second of Mehr during the Rami Jamarat (stoning the devil) ceremony, at least 456 Iranians lost their lives due to being trampled and as a result of overcrowding. According to the representative of the Iranian leader in Hajj and pilgrimage affairs, among the Iranian victims were "five distinguished reciters, members of the state broadcasting organization, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 10 clerics, and 17 managers and service personnel of the caravans." He also mentioned that "the Iranian delegation in Saudi Arabia has spoken with eyewitnesses and reviewed all videos and sketches," adding, "The route on Eid al-Adha was clear, and if the route had not been blocked, such a tragedy would not have occurred. The issue that day was the unpreparedness of security forces, the heat, obstacles in the movement path, and similar factors, which have become completely clear to us." Previously, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, commanders of the IRGC, Friday prayer leaders, and members of parliament had blamed the House of Saud for the Mina incident and accused Saudi Arabia of "incompetence." Continuing the Iranian officials' attacks on Saudi Arabia, Yadollah Javani, senior advisor to the representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC, said on Thursday that "if the Islamic Republic of Iran enters a confrontation phase, the conditions for Al Saud will be difficult." According to Mehr news agency, Mr. Javani referred to Khamenei's remarks on October 8 regarding Iran's harsh and severe response to "Saudi Arabia's sabotage," stating, "At any moment it is necessary, the IRGC is ready and capable to execute the command." The head of Iran's judiciary also emphasized that "Saudi Arabia cannot evade responsibility for the recent incident and avoid apologizing to the world's Muslims." According to Tasnim news agency, Sadegh Amoli Larijani has asked the Attorney General to pursue this issue in coordination and cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and consultation with Muslim countries that lost their citizens in the recent Mina incident until a final result is achieved. On October 5, Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic, announced that this ministry has been tasked by the government to investigate the Mina incident. Different statistics regarding the number of victims have emerged. Saudi officials reported a total of 769 victims and 934 injured in the Mina incident, but the Associated Press stated on Thursday that the number of fatalities exceeds the aforementioned statistics. The AP concluded that 1,364 people died in this incident, which is 600 more than the figures provided by Saudi Arabia. Riyadh officials had stated that they would update the casualty figures but stopped publishing them after October 4. Iranian officials have repeatedly claimed over the past two weeks that the number of victims of the Mina incident exceeds 4,700; however, they have not provided any evidence to support their claims. The Associated Press noted that the Mina incident was the worst tragedy in the past quarter-century during the Hajj, basing its figures on the number of fatalities reported by 17 countries that lost their citizens in this event. In 1990, 1,426 pilgrims also lost their lives due to overcrowding in a tunnel near Mecca. Saudi Arabia has attributed this year's Mina incident to the collision of two groups of pilgrims in a narrow path, which caused suffocation or trampling of hundreds of people. The Associated Press added that diplomats from Indonesia, Pakistan, and India reported that Saudi officials had provided them with images of 1,100 victims from the Mina incident. However, Riyadh claims that these images also included pilgrims who died of natural causes. Egypt lost 148 people in this incident, Indonesia 120, Pakistan 89, India 81, and Mali 70. Other victims came from Nigeria, Senegal, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Morocco, Algeria, Ghana, Chad, Kenya, and Turkey. These countries have stated that hundreds of their citizens are still missing. Pilgrims from more than 180 countries participated in this year's Hajj.