Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 11
By Khalid Kazimov – Trend:
Iran will take legal actions against the Saudi government to fulfill the rights of the victims of Mina stampede, said Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Zarif made the remarks through a statement on Sep.11 ahead of the first anniversary of Mina stampede that took place last September near the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, IRNA news agency reported.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry will not give up pursuing the rights of the victims of the deadly crush, Zarif added.
He further said that the Mina issue will impact future ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
About 500 Iranian Hajj pilgrims were killed in Mina stampede last September.
Although Riyadh says that 770 individuals were killed in the incident, Iran, which had the greatest number of deaths among foreign nationals, has put the death toll at about 4,700.
The Mina tragedy came after, a massive construction crane collapsed onto the Grand Mosque in Mecca, killing more than 100 people, including a number of Iranians.
Ayatollah Khamenei earlier denounced Saudi Arabia’s management of the Hajj pilgrimage saying Saudi rulers were to blame for the deaths of hundreds of pilgrims in both incidents during last year’s rituals.