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Iran's government under fire for subsidizing pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia

The Iranian government’s decision to subsidize the hajj pilgrimage has fueled anger among many Iranians who are struggling to make ends meet.
Iranian pilgrims wait at the Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran as they depart for the annual haj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, in Tehran, Iran, July 31, 2017. Nazanin Tabatabaee Yazdi / TIMA via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1CBB5CCCA0

The Iranian government has approved a generous plan to facilitate participation in the hajj, offering Saudi-bound travelers the opportunity to pay for the voyage — estimated to cost over $3,000 — in local currency at rates far below the open market.

As of March 5, the US dollar cost around 130,000 rials on the open market, over three times the official rate, which has stood at a fixed 42,000 rials for almost a year now. The subsidized rate offered to pilgrims will be just over half that on the open market, or 70,000 rials per dollar.

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