Prominent Iranian cleric stressed security and esteem of Hajj pilgrims as the redline for the Islamic Republic of Iran while the country is discussing the conditions for sending its Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

While the confidence of Iranian nation in Saudi Arabia is tarnished following the stampede incident during Hajj 2015, grand Ayatollah Hussein Noori Hamedani, Iranian senior jurisprudent in his weekly class in Qom, warned that safeguarding the security and esteem of the pilgrims to the annual religious event is the redline for Iran.

He referred to the irresponsibility of Saudi authorities during the annual event and stressed maintaining the honor of pilgrims as an important issue which has to be observed.

The cleric noted,� With the malfunction and unsatisfactory background of Al Saud in managing previous Hajj pilgrimage, first we have to make sure that the honor of our pilgrims is guaranteed.�

Grand Ayatollah Noori Hamedani added,� Secondary to respect for our Hajj pilgrims, is their security and that is due to the dark incidents we witness in Hajj 2015.�

He also warned against hostile efforts to misrepresent Islam and Ahlul Bayt (AS) and noted,� Enemies are making huge investments to spread accusations against Islam; hence, we should train experts to confront the baseless accusations and distract people.�

Saudi management of Hajj rituals has been severely damaged by several incidents during 2015 Hajj pilgrimage where a dozen of people have been killed in a crane crash in Masjid al Haram, hundreds lost their lives in Mina stampede incident and a couple of Iranian teenage pilgrims were sexually harassed by airport staff in Jeddah.

By ABNA