Qazi Askar: Police Officers Accused of Assaulting Two Iranian Teenagers in Saudi Arabia Are Serving Their Sentences

The representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic at the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization stated that two police officers accused of 'assaulting' two Iranian teenagers at Jeddah airport in Saudi Arabia have been sentenced to four years in prison and one thousand lashes, and 'are currently serving their sentences.' According to the IRNA news agency, Ali Qazi Askar announced on Sunday, March 5, that the punishment of four years in prison, one thousand lashes, and dismissal from service for the two 'guilty' police officers at Jeddah airport has been 'finalized and officially announced by Saudi Arabia.' Mr. Qazi Askar noted that Saudi officials informed Iranian officials that 'we had requested a harsher punishment for the offenders, but the relevant judges issued such a ruling.' He mentioned that given this ruling, if negotiations between the two countries regarding the holding of Hajj 96 are successful, the Umrah pilgrimage will also resume. On April 6, Hassan Qashqavi, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, reported that during the second week of the Nowruz holidays, while inspecting an Iranian caravan, Jeddah airport officials, under the pretext of suspecting two Iranian teenagers, separated them from the others and subjected them to 'sexual harassment.' The announcement of this news increased tensions between the two countries and led to the suspension of Iranian pilgrims' trips for Umrah. Iran's condition for resuming Umrah was the implementation of the harshest punishment for the two Saudi officials and providing guarantees for the safety of pilgrims. Meanwhile, following the Mina incident in October 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 Iranian pilgrims did not attend Hajj 95. After the Mina incident and the cancellation of Hajj 95, officials of the Islamic Republic severely criticized Saudi Arabia. Tensions between the two countries have been escalating in recent years. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, on September 6, addressed 'the rulers of Saudi Arabia' with titles such as 'godless and heartless rulers,' 'instigators of sedition,' 'politicians unaware of God,' and 'the accursed tree of tyrants.' On the other hand, Saudi Arabia has accused Tehran of being the biggest threat to security in the Middle East, and its foreign minister has stated that Iran is the most accused supporter of terrorism. Nevertheless, negotiations between officials of the two countries to resume Hajj trips have continued in recent weeks. Meanwhile, on Friday, March 3, AFP reported, citing the Saudi state news agency, that Mohammed Benten, the Saudi Minister of Hajj, discussed 'arrangements related to the participation of Iranian pilgrims in the Hajj ceremony' with Iranian envoys.