Hours after the hajj disaster, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged Saudi authorities to accept responsibility for the tragedy, saying it was caused by “mismanagement.” Iranian state-run media and government officials repeated that allegation Friday.
Rouhani, who is in New York for the U.N. General Assembly, told a group of editors that both accidents suggested “ineptitude” on the part of Saudi authorities. He speculated that more experienced military officials had been diverted to Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Yemen, leaving less-experienced personnel in charge of the organizing the hajj.
“These incidents, they do not conform to the normal parameters” of religious pilgrimages or rites, Rouhani said, and the authorities could be viewed as “not sufficiently responsible to be hosting” such large groups of people.
“We do not accept and have completely opposed” Saudi policy in Yemen, he said, rejecting Saudi Arabia’s right to “interfere in Yemen’s internal conflict.” However he said Iran would not hesitate to engage in dialogue with Saudi Arabia “if we see a framework” for such discussions.
Iran’s Cabinet held an emergency meeting, and First Vice President Ishaq Jahangiri said it was clear “the Saudi government is responsible for this disaster … and has to provide answers.” He added that “mismanagement is definitely the cause” of the tragedy.