Tehran,  May 12, The Iran Project – Given Saudi Arabia’s refusal to cooperate on arrangements for Iranians to join the annual rituals in September, a senior Iranian cleric says holy places in Saudi Arabia are not limited to Saudis.

Visiting Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati on Thursday, Iran's Ayatollah Abdullah Javadi-Amoli stressed on the importance of Hajj rituals and said holy places in Saudi Arabia are not exclusive to Saudis but for all Muslims.

An Iranian delegation headed by chairman of Iran's Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, Saeid Ouhadi, has been sent to Saudi Arabia to discuss Hajj for the current year, but the Saudis had mistreated them, subjecting them to finger-printing among other hostile measures, said Ali Jannati.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="555"] Saudi emergency personnel and Hajj pilgrims stand near bodies covered in sheets at the site where thousands were killed and wounded in a stampede in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, at the annual Hajj in Saudi Arabia on September 24, 2015. (AFP Photo)[/caption]

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari also said on Wednesday that Iran may stop sending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for Hajj if the kingdom refuses to resolve visa and travel issues.

Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran on January 3 following attacks on vacant Saudi diplomatic perimeters in Tehran and Mashhad by angry people protesting the kingdom's execution of prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr.

And, not having diplomatic relations with Tehran, Riyadh has been constantly refusing to help streamline various procedural aspects of the pilgrimage.

Saudis’ inaction also comes in the wake of a deadly stampede last year, which drew strong criticism from countries around the world including Iran.