Iran haj pilgrims arrive in Saudi Arabia

“Iranian haj pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh-based broadcaster Al Arabiya reported Saturday, despite a deterioration in ties between the Gulf kingdom and the Islamic republic during the Middle East war. Saudi Arabia’s haj ministry informed Al Arabiya that the first Iranians had arrived this year by air for the annual holy Muslim pilgrimage, the channel reported in a post on X. Iran bombarded its Gulf neighbours, including Saudi Arabia, with missiles and drones for over a month in response to US and Israeli attacks on the Islamic republic beginning on February 28. Tehran’s aerial campaign halted earlier this month when the US and Iran announced a fragile ceasefire. The admission of Iranians for haj has been a barometer for relations between Shia-dominated Iran and Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia after no Iranian pilgrims were allowed into Makkah for seven years from 2016 to 2023. In 2016 Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran when its embassy in Tehran and consulate in the northwestern city of Mashhad were attacked during protests. The two countries resumed diplomatic ties in March 2023 under a surprise China-brokered deal. On April 9, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan held a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, in the first official contact between the countries since the start of the war. On March 1, Riyadh’s foreign ministry summoned Iran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia in protest over the attacks on the Gulf kingdom and its neighbours.

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