Monday 23 December 2024

14 August 2023

Mina Tragedy Anniversary Marked in 14 Countries: Iranian Official

Fourteen countries around the world have held special ceremonies to commemorate the anniversary of a tragic crush of people that killed 7,000 Hajj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia’s Mina last year, Head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization Saeed Ohadi said Monday.


Addressing worshippers at the Eid al-Adha prayers in Iran’s predominantly Sunni city of Gonbad-e Kavus on Monday, Ohadi said the first anniversary of the Mina tragedy has been marked in fourteen countries with special ceremonies attended by families of the victims and by elites.

Following Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei’s recent comments about the need for efforts to not allow the Mina tragedy to sink into oblivion, Afghanistan held a ceremony in commemoration of its nationals killed in Mina, Ohadi noted, adding that people of Pakistan have also protested seriously against the government statistics for the fatalities.

During last year’s Hajj in Saudi Arabia, 7,000 people were killed, 477 of whom were Iranians, he noted, saying 12 Iranian were killed in a crane collapse in Mecca, while 465 others lost their lives in Mina.

Last week, Ayatollah Khamenei took a swipe at the Saudi-affiliated propaganda organizations for their attempts to spread the notion that the Mina tragedy signifies friction between Shiite and Sunni Muslims or between Arabs and non-Arabs.

Supporters of the Saudi rulers are trying to spread such an “outright lie” in a propaganda campaign, while “most of the 7,000 Mina martyrs, including a large number of Iranian martyrs, are Sunnis,” the Leader revealed.