Iran demands fact-finding committee on Hajj crush
Iran’s Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani calls for the formation of a fact-finding committee to investigate the recent deadly incident during the Hajj rituals in Mina, outside the holy city of Mecca.
“Iran’s Majlis regards as necessary the formation of a fact-finding committee by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Parliamentary Union of the OIC member states to find out root causes of the Mina catastrophe,” Larijani said in a message to parliament speakers of Muslim countries on Monday.
He also expressed Majlis’ readiness for membership in the fact-finding mission.
On September 24, a fatal crush took place in Mina as two large crowds of pilgrims were on their way to participate in the symbolic stoning of Satan, a Hajj ritual.
Saudi Arabia’s Health Ministry has put the death toll from the incident at nearly 770.
However, the fatality figure released by Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization stands at around 2,000. According to the latest announcement by the organization, the death toll of the Iranian pilgrims also stands at 169. Some 46 Iranians have also been hospitalized, while 298 others are still missing.
Larijani further said Saudi Arabia is “undoubtedly” responsible for “this grave catastrophe and other [similar] incidents during the Hajj rituals.”
He said Saudi officials should be answerable to Muslim nations’ public opinion and avoid playing a blame game over such incidents.
The Mina stampede, which happened days after the collapse of a massive construction crane into Mecca’s Grand Mosque, has brought deep grief upon the Muslim world, he added.
Larijani called on his counterparts from Muslim countries to think of mechanisms to prevent the reoccurrence of such bitter incidents in the future.
The Mina tragic event came after a massive construction crane collapsed into Mecca’s Grand Mosque on September 11, killing nearly 110 people and injuring about 400 more. Eleven Iranian pilgrims were among the deceased while 32 others were also injured.
Separately, on September 21, a fire at a 15-story hotel in Mecca forced the evacuation of some 1,500 people. A fire also broke out at another hotel in the city days earlier, which left a number of foreigners injured.
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