Qazi Askar: Saudi Arabia Should Avoid Delays Regarding Hajj

The representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic in Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs urged Saudi officials to avoid "delays and procrastination" in issuing visas and negotiating the dispatch of Iranian pilgrims to Mecca and Medina. According to a report on Tuesday, February 15, from Young Journalists Club, Ali Qazi Askar made these remarks during a meeting of the Planning and Coordination Council of the Ali Khamenei Mission regarding the necessary arrangements for sending an Iranian delegation to Saudi Arabia. Mr. Qazi Askar stated, "If Saudi Arabia truly wants Iranian pilgrims to go for Hajj, it must avoid procrastination and delays in the visa issuance process and negotiations, and be determined in welcoming Iranian pilgrims." He also expressed hope that the Iranian delegation would return to the country with positive outcomes at the end of negotiations with the Saudi side. The Iranian delegation, headed by Hamid Mohammadi, the head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, is set to travel to Saudi Arabia for negotiations on March 25. The representative of Khamenei in Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs had previously announced receiving an official invitation from Saudi Arabia to participate in bilateral negotiations regarding the Hajj of 1996. Meanwhile, Bahram Qasemi, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, denied receiving such an invitation on January 5. Mehdi Shahsavari, the director of the presidency and public relations of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, also made similar statements to those of Bahram Qasemi on January 2. Following the Mina incident in October 2015, which resulted in the death of 465 Iranian pilgrims, Iran and Saudi Arabia failed to reach an agreement on security measures and other issues between the two countries, leading Tehran to refrain from sending Iranian pilgrims to the Hajj this year. Despite the severe criticism from Islamic Republic officials towards Saudi Arabia following the Mina incident and the cancellation of Hajj 95, where Ayatollah Khamenei referred to Saudi officials with titles such as "godless and heartless rulers" and "the accursed tree of tyrants," Iran announced that despite Saudi Arabia's rejection of its conditions, it was not willing to boycott the Hajj ceremony.