Tensions between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran are not new, but recent statements by Iranian officials suggest that Saudi Arabia is intentionally delaying meetings between the two countries that would prevent Iranian pilgrims from performing their hajj obligations for the first time in nearly three decades.
An article by Arman Daily titled “Hajj without Iranian pilgrims!” covered the most recent statements by Iranian officials in charge of the pilgrimage. “The delay by Saudi Arabia for preparatory talks on the hajj means they do not want hajj to be completed [by the Iranians],” said the representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Hojat al-Islam Seyed Ali Ghazi Askar, on April 3. He warned that if there are no talks in the coming days on the issues of housing, transportation, food and other logistical matters for Iranian pilgrims, “the conditions to conducting a desirable hajj will become very difficult.”
