Iran’s investigation into a deadly stampede in Saudi Arabia in 2015 has shown that it was not orchestrated, a senior official said, adding that the case involving the death of hundreds of Iranian pilgrims in the incident is being followed up through legal channels.
“Our investigation has shown that the Mina incident was not intentional,” the Leader’s representative for hajj and pilgrimage affairs, Seyyed Ali Qazi-Askar, told ISNA in an interview published on Tuesday.
Lack of Foresight
However, there was “a lack of foresight” by Saudi authorities, he said, adding, “We have prepared documentation of the incident and interviews were conducted with 800 pilgrims.”
In the worst disaster to strike the annual hajj pilgrimage in 25 years, at least 464 Iranians lost their lives during the 2015 crush that claimed as many as 2,400 lives, according to body counts from several countries or even double or more than that figure according to some officials.
Saudi authorities gave an initial tally of 770 deaths and then stopped counting the dead as the toll rose.
Tehran blamed the disaster on the incompetence of the Saudi organizers who suggested at the time that some pilgrims ignored crowd control rules.
Two weeks before the incident, 110 people, including 11 Iranians, died in Mecca's Grand Mosque when a crane working on an expansion project collapsed during a storm and toppled off the roof into the main courtyard.
Iran did not participate in the 2016 pilgrimage due to the uncooperative approach of Saudi officials, but sent 90,000 Iranians to the hajj in Islam's holiest site last year after the kingdom's promise of ensuring safety.
Qazi-Askar said Iran is actively pursuing both cases.
Blood Money
Saudi Arabia is investigating the cases separately, he said, adding, "They have started paying reparations to relatives of those killed in the Grand Mosque. They have also said that they will compensate the relatives of Iranians who died in the Grand Mosque."
Even if it is concluded that Riyadh was not at fault in the Mina stampede, the kingdom will have to pay blood money to the victims' families because of the nature of the incident, he said.
According to fiqh or Islamic jurisprudence, damages for victims of a stampede must be paid by the government of a country in which the accident occurred, the cleric noted.
All the documents have been sent to Saudi Arabia's Hajj and Umrah Ministry so that they can be handed over to the fact-finding committee but no conclusion has been announced yet, Qazi-Askar was quoted as saying.
Asked if the Saudis have accepted to compensate victims of the Mina incident, he said, "They have not denied it so far because it is a principle in Fiqh."
Saudi Embassy Attack
The Leader's representative criticized the storming of the Saudi Embassy in Tehran following the execution of a prominent Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia in January 2016, saying it only complicated the situation.
Riyadh severed political relations with Tehran following the incident, and the diplomatic rift provided another arena for discord between the two Persian Gulf powers, which back opposing sides in conflicts across the region.
"The attack on the embassy was a wrong move and, unfortunately, prolonged the investigation process. We believe if political ties were not cut and Iran could participate in the fact-finding committee, better results could have been achieved. However, we have not lost hope and are still pursuing the matter," he said.
Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani and senior Iranian officials condemned the attack of the Saudi diplomatic mission at the time.
Upcoming Hajj
The official in charge of hajj and pilgrimage affairs added that preparations are underway for the participation of Iranians in the hajj rituals this year after confidence-building measures were taken by the kingdom.
Some analysts say negotiations over the issue of hajj can help pave the way for dialogue on other thorny issues between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Tensions were eased to some extent in 2017 following a series of bilateral hajj-related arrangements, marked by a handshake between Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul.
Lesser Pilgrimage
Asked about Iran's ban on Umrah pilgrimages to Mecca—which are made outside of the hajj season—Qazi-Askar said, "If this year's hajj is organized the same as or better than last year and Saudi Arabia is ready to sign an agreement on Umrah, we will definitely take part."
Saudi Reputation
Custodian of Islam's most revered places in Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia stakes its reputation on organizing the hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam which every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to is obliged to undertake at least once.
In the worst tragedy to occur at the pilgrimage, 1,426 pilgrims suffocated in a tunnel near Mecca in July 1990.
Iran boycotted the hajj for three years after 402 pilgrims, mostly Iranians, died in clashes with Saudi security forces during an anti-US and anti-Israel rally in Mecca in 1987.
