Iran sends new delegation to Saudi for Haj talks

TEHRAN // Iran and Saudi Arabia were to hold Haj talks in Jeddah on Wednesday despite a diplomatic crisis between the two countries, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported on Tuesday.

“A delegation of six people will leave this afternoon for Saudi Arabia at the invitation of the Saudi Minister of Haj for negotiations,” IRNA quoted Said Ohadi, head of Iran’s Haj organisation, as saying.

Earlier this month Iranian culture minister Ali Jannati, who oversees the Haj organisation, said “arrangements have not been put together” for Iranians to make this year’s pilgrimage to Mecca at the end of the summer.

He accused Riyadh of “sabotage”, but Saudi Arabia later denied blocking Iranian pilgrims.

The two countries held an unsuccessful first round of talks last month in Saudi Arabia on organising this year’s pilgrimage for Iranians.

It was the first dialogue between the two countries since diplomatic relations were severed in January.

Saudi Arabia cut ties with Tehran after demonstrators burnt Saudi missions in Iran following Riyadh’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.

Tehran claims Riyadh has insisted that visas for Iranians be issued in a third country and will not allow pilgrims to be flown in aboard Iranian aircraft, which Iran has rejected.

Iran and Saudi Arabia are at odds over a raft of regional issues, notably the conflicts in Syria and Yemen in which they support opposing sides.

Another contentious issue has been security, after a stampede at last year’s Haj killed hundreds of foreign pilgrims including 464 Iranians.

On Friday, a senior Saudi religious leader warned against those who would “wreak havoc” under the guise of pilgrimage, an apparent swipe at Iran.

The annual Haj and the lesser pilgrimage known as Umra draw millions of faithful to Saudi Arabia from around the world each year.

* Agence France-Presse