Iranian President Hassan Rouhani used a major United Nations speech on Saturday to demand an investigation into a crush that killed over 700 people at the haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported.
The fact that Rouhani used a U.N. summit meeting on global development goals to reiterate Iran's outrage over the haj tragedy was a sign that Tehran does not intend to tone down criticism of its regional rival Saudi Arabia. Both Iran and the Saudis see themselves as leaders in the Muslim world.
In his speech to the 193-nation U.N. General Assembly, Rouhani emphasized the need for an investigation into "the causes of this incident and other similar incidents in this year's haj." He describe the crush as "heart-rending."
Speaking to reporters before a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif repeated that "we need to address the disastrous event in Saudi Arabia."