Iran demands apology for hajj deaths

Riyadh hits back at criticism from Teheran, saying it 'shouldn't play politics with a tragedy'

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei demanded on Sunday that Saudi Arabia apologize for a stampede that killed nearly 770 pilgrims at the hajj, at least 144 of them Iranians.

"Instead of passing the buck and playing a blame game, the Saudis should accept their responsibility and apologize to the world's Muslims and the bereaved families," Khamenei said in comments reported by the official IRNA news agency.

Iranian leaders have been fiercely critical of Saudi authorities' handling of safety at the hajj and questioned whether Riyadh was fit to continue organizing the annual pilgrimage.

Khamenei's comments came just hours after Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir hit back at the criticism from its regional rival, saying it "shouldn't play politics with a tragedy".

"I would hope Iranian leaders would be more sensible and more thoughtful with regard to those who perished in this tragedy, and wait until we see the results of the investigation," he said.

Iranian Culture Minister Ali Janati was scheduled to head a delegation to Saudi Arabia to follow up on 323 Iranians who Teheran said are missing, but IRNA said his team still has not received visas.

Iran on Saturday vowed to take international legal action against Saudi Arabia's rulers over the stampede.

"Under international law, this incident is absolutely subject to prosecution. The Al-Saud must be responsive," Iran's State Prosecutor Ebrahim Raisi told state TV, referring to Saudi Arabia's ruling family.

Envoy summoned

On Saturday, Teheran summoned Saudi Arabia's envoy for the third time since the stampede, to press the kingdom for greater cooperation.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani appealed for UN mediation with the Saudis in a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York, state television reported.

"Sadly, Riyadh isn't offering enough cooperation on the missing pilgrims and the transfer of the dead and injured," Rouhani said.

"It is crucial that the UN remind Riyadh of its legal and humanitarian obligations."

Iran and Saudi Arabia are bitterly divided on a host of regional issues and support opposite sides in the wars raging in Syria and Yemen. The accusations of mismanagement of the pilgrimage strike at a key pillar of the Saudi royal family's prestige - King Salman holds the title of the "custodian of the two holy mosques".

Neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia is a state party to the International Criminal Court, and only the court's prosecutor can file charges. Iran could try to file a case at the International Court of Justice, which handles disputes between nations but does not mete out criminal justice.

The pilgrims suffocated or were trampled to death on Thursday when two massive crowds converged on a narrow street, in the worst disaster to occur during the annual pilgrimage in a quarter of a century. Shiite Iran has accused Sunni Saudi Arabia of mismanaging the pilgrimage, which annually draws about 2 million people from 180 countries.

AFP - Reuters - AP