Thousands of demonstrators in Tehran chanted, “Death to the al-Saud family,” and Iranian state TV showed similar protests in other Iranian cities.
Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani, a senior cleric in Tehran, called for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the world’s largest body of Muslim nations, to take over administering the hajj.
“The Saudi government and authorities involved in hajj should appear before court and be held accountable,” Kashani said. “They should not lie and say, ‘It was because this or that, the weather was hot, it was the pilgrims’ faults.’”
Saudi King Salman, who is overseeing his first hajj as ruler, holds the title of “custodian of the two holy mosques,” which gives the monarchy great religious clout and prestige.
Iyad Madani, the secretary-general of the 57-nation OIC, backed Saudi Arabia. He previously served as the kingdom’s hajj minister.
Madani “expressed hope that no party would seek to take advantage of the pilgrimage and pilgrims, and the incidents that might happen when these crowds of millions perform the same rituals at the same time, in a controversial context that would divide rather than unite,” he said in a statement.
Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Hezbollah group, said the Saudi government bears the responsibility for the accident and called for those countries that lost many victims to join the investigation to ensure there is no cover-up.
Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran, Iran, John Daniszewski in New York, Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, Zarar Khan in Islamabad, and Omar Akour in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, contributed to this report.