Tehran, Iran, Oct. 6
By Mehdi Sepahvand -- Trend:
A political expert says recent anti-Saudi statements by Iranian officials concern only the Saudi government's negligence that caused a stampede tragedy on Sept. 24 and are not related to regional political developments.
"After all, some 500 Iranians were killed due to negligence and Iran has to somehow defend their dignity," Ali Khorram told Trend Oct. 6.
After the stampede, which killed hundreds of pilgrims who had gathered in Mecca from across the world to perform the Hajj ritual, Iranian authorities have been directing a heavy barrage of threats at the Saudi Arabia.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said following the incident that Saudi Arabia would meet a harsh response if not respecting Iran and the Iranian pilgrims.
Riyadh, however, aggravated the situation by first refusing to take responsibility for the case, then refraining from sending the bodies of the dead to their countries or even allowing officials from their countries to visit and identify the bodies.
Commander of Iran 's Army Ground Force highlighted the country's military preparedness to show a tough and crushing reaction to Saudi Arabia after its mishandling of the incident.
Tehran has also called on Islamic countries to take the Hajj out of Saudi hands and hold it through a joint committee from this year on.
Khorram, however, pointed out that after Saudi Arabia yielded to heavy demand and sent the bodies to Iran, Tehran 's indignation subsided.
The expert said Saudi's efforts as a rival to Iran to show a bolder role in regional issues such as developments in Syria and Yemen have had no impact on the Hajj case. "Those are political issues, but this is one would not have happened if it had been handled more properly," he said.
Edited by CN