Promise of 'Severe Punishment' for Errant Jeddah Airport Officials by Saudi Minister

Iran's state news agency IRNA reported that Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi Foreign Minister, assured Iranian Ambassador Hossein Sadeghi during a meeting that Riyadh would 'swiftly and decisively punish the errant officials' at Jeddah Airport. Meanwhile, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), Nasser Khodrnejad, Deputy of Iran's Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, stated on Friday, April 28, that 'the status of individuals who registered for the Umrah pilgrimage in 1394 (2015) will be clarified next week.' Mr. Khodrnejad indicated that the organization would issue a statement regarding this matter next week. According to IRNA, the Iranian ambassador to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, April 26, during a meeting with the Saudi Foreign Minister, emphasized that the incident at Jeddah Airport 'has hurt the public sentiments of the Iranian nation' and called for 'serious and decisive action by the Saudi government against the offending officials.' The report states that Saud al-Faisal also expressed that 'we hold a special importance for the Islamic Republic of Iran' and called for opening a new chapter in the relations between the two countries. On Tuesday, April 17, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister reported that during the second week of the Nowruz holidays, while inspecting an Iranian Umrah caravan, Jeddah airport officials separated two Iranian teenagers under the pretext of suspicion and subjected them to sexual harassment. The Saudi Ministry of Interior stated that it is investigating the case of two police officers accused of 'sexual assault.' However, according to Ali Jannati, Iran's Minister of Culture, the Umrah pilgrimage will be halted until the trial and punishment of these officials, and flights from Iran will also be suspended. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Headquarters of Iran's Judiciary issued an official statement calling the 'sexual assault' of two Iranian teenagers in Saudi Arabia a 'systematic and very dangerous trend,' but Ali Qazi Askar, the representative of the Supreme Leader in Hajj affairs, stated that the Jeddah incident was not rape but rather 'an act of attempted sexual assault and harassment.' According to IRNA, the Iranian ambassador also called for an 'immediate ceasefire and the commencement of humanitarian aid' to the victims of the conflicts in Yemen during his meeting with the Saudi Foreign Minister. IRNA did not mention the Saudi Foreign Minister's remarks regarding the Yemen crisis. The Arab countries of the Persian Gulf began airstrikes and bombings against the positions of the Houthis, the Shiite militants in Yemen, on April 6, aiming to halt their advance. Iran, which has been accused of supporting the Houthis, has repeatedly protested against Saudi military intervention in Yemen and has considered dialogue among Yemeni groups and the formation of an inclusive government as the solution to the crisis in that country. The Houthis, Shiite Muslims residing in northern Yemen, imprisoned President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi in the presidential palace after seizing control of Sanaa last September. He fled to Aden in southern Yemen in February and last month sought refuge in Saudi Arabia as the Houthis approached that city.