Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told Iran’s IRIB Channel One news program on Saturday that Saudi Arabian officials had failed in taking the Mina incident seriously and would sabotage the efforts to find the missing pilgrims and transfer of the body of the dead pilgrims; “Friday night, we received the story of imprisoning of a number of Iranian pilgrims after Mina stampede incident, to which we responded through Iranian embassy and consulate in Riyadh, who however did not confirm the issue as authentic,” he told the news program. “About the arrest of Iranian journalists, as addressed by Minister of Culture Ali Jannati, I would say that the incident was not without precedent, and we are now watching the course of events,” Amir-Abdollahian told the program.
He expressed dissatisfaction with Saudi officials sheer lack of competence in transfer of dead bodies of pilgrims to Iran; “I have talked to Mr. ambassador in Jeddah; Saudi chargé d'affaires have been summoned for a third time to voice our protest over the issue,” said the deputy-FM.
On a question of the level of cooperation by Saudi officials with Iranian delegation, Amir-Abdollahian said that the convoluted situation in the domestic politics of the Saudi Kingdom along with the lack of competence of Hajj ritual authorities all contributed to the slow pace of developments in affairs; “Saudi crown prince however has send an envoy to Iranian delegation to receive the list of missing pilgrims; however, the preliminary actions fall short of our expectations; they have been also showing reluctance in issuing visas for our Culture Minister who is to depart to Jeddah along with FM Consular Affairs Deputy,” Amir-Abdollahian lamented.
Amir-Abdollahian also announced establishment of an international and Islamic ‘fact-finding committee’ on Mina incident and a special session; “president’s legal deputy has held a meeting with international law experts to address the different aspects of the issue; other countries also have provided some plans which will also be considered; we hope that the collective efforts would effectively prevent such future events,” he added.
“Mr. Zarif who is in New York, has taken the opportunity to seek the help of internationally influential figures such as the secretary general, his deputy, and EU foreign policy chief about the Mina incidents,” he told the TV news program.