Iranian pilgrims set to attend Hajj this year

Saudi Arabia said on Friday that Iranians would be allowed to participate in this year’s Hajj pilgrimage to the holy cities of Makkah and Madina, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Arrangements were agreed upon during the meeting held last month between the Saudi  minister of Hajj and Umrah, Mohammad Saleh Bin Taher Benten, and the chairman of Iranian Hajj and Visit Organization, Hameid Mohammadi and the accompanying delegation to discuss Iranian pilgrims’ affairs.

Iranian pilgrims did not attend Hajj last year due to political tensions between the two regional rivals.

But the Saudi Hajj ministry said that the kingdom welcomes "all pilgrims from all the different nationalities and backgrounds".

Both nations failed for a second time to reach a deal on Hajj arrangements for Iranian pilgrims in May 2016, resulting in a delegation from Tehran leaving Saudi Arabia without signing an agreement.

Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran have soured since prominent cleric Nimr Al-Nimr was executed in the kingdom earlier in 2016.

 Another point of contention between the two countries is safety following the Hajj pilgrimage in 2015, which saw a crane accident in Makkah’s Grand Mosque, as well as a stampede. Hundreds of pilgrims were killed in the incidents, including 464 Iranians.