Member of Parliament: Families Said There Was No Sexual Assault

A member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly referred to a joint meeting attended by representatives from the judiciary, the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to investigate the Jeddah incident, stating that "the families of the two assaulted teenagers emphasized that no rape occurred, and it was more about harassment and disrespect." According to a report on Sunday, April 23, by ISNA, Ahmad Amirabadi, a member of the Article 90 Commission of the Parliament, stressed that "the families of these two teenagers completely denied the issue of rape and emphasized that it was more about harassment and disrespect." He also called for "an apology from the Saudi government to the Iranian people" and "the harshest punishment for the two officers." This parliament member also reported on a meeting between the Saudi Minister of Interior and the Iranian ambassador in the country, stating that during this meeting, the Saudi Minister of Interior described the incident as "inappropriate, shameful, and embarrassing" and emphasized that "the perpetrators will be sent to prison and will only agree to execution." Mr. Amirabadi quoted the Saudi Minister of Interior as saying that the Saudi government will keep the Iranian government "informed about the trial and even the families of the two teenagers can witness the execution of these two officers." ISNA also reported, citing the spokesperson of the Article 90 Commission, that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been designated as "responsible for following up on the Jeddah airport incident" and it has been decided that this ministry, in cooperation with the Hajj Organization, will pursue the matter until an apology is received from the Saudi government and the harshest punishment is determined for the offending officers. On Tuesday, April 17, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister announced that during the second week of the Nowruz holidays, while inspecting an Iranian Umrah caravan, Jeddah airport officials, on the pretext of suspecting two Iranian teenagers, separated them from the rest and subjected them to sexual harassment. This issue has led some officials of the Islamic Republic to even threaten to cancel Umrah trips. Meanwhile, the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization of Iran announced that "many flights of Iranian pilgrims have been canceled in the past two days due to the lack of visa issuance by the Saudis."