Tehran, Iran, Sept. 9
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Iran held protests against the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain as Iranians partook demonstrations after their Friday prayers across the country.
The demonstrators shouted “Death to the House of Saud” and “Death to the House of Khalifa”, Mehr news agency reported September 9.
Iran accuses Bahrain's ruling family of violating human rights and mistreating the Bahraini Shia citizens.
The House of Khalifa recently revoke’s Bahrain’s leading Shia cleric Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Ahmed Qassim of his nationality, which found strong criticism from Tehran.
Iran is also in political rift with Saudi Arabia after over 460 Iranians were found among the hundreds of pilgrims who died in a stampede on September 24, 2015, that occurred in Mina, near Mecca, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
This week on the anniversary of the tragedy, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized the House of Saud for mismanaging the incident.
Saudi's Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz Sheikh replied by saying that Tehran’s leaders are “not Muslims,” adding that Iranians are descendants of “Majuws”— a term that refers to Zoroastrians (those who worship fire).
The Islamic Republic announced on May 29 that it won’t dispatch pilgrims this year to Mecca due to Riyadh’s failure to address Tehran’s concerns regarding the safety of the pilgrims.