Tehran:Leader of the Muslim Ummah and Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, in a meeting on Wednesday with the families of martyrs of (the 2015) Mina and Grand Mosque mishaps, said the dawdling and incompetence of the Al Saud in this incident proved once more the ineptitude of this accursed wicked tree in administering and managing the Two Holy Mosques’ affairs. Ayatollah Khamenei noted: “If they are telling the truth and are innocent in this incident, they must let an Islamic-international fact-finding committee investigate the realities of the issue on the ground and shed light [on them].”   

Ayatollah Khamenei said the meeting with the families of the martyrs of Mina and Grand Mosque tragedies was reminiscent of last year’s painful events, adding: “The Mina incident and the [ensuing] deaths of worshipping Iranian Hajj pilgrims with thirsty lips and under searing sun were deeply grievous and unforgettable. Of course this incident has a variety of aspects and incorporates enlightening points from political, social, moral and religious standpoints, which must not be driven into oblivion.” 

“Last year, it was very difficult and shocking for families to digest the news of the death of their beloved ones and the repatriation of their bodies, but in exchange for this tragedy, paying attention to the fact that those beloved ones, like martyrs, are under the auspices of divine forgiveness, compassion and blessing could give cause for comfort and serenity,” said the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.   

Ayatollah Khamenei then referred to the martyrdom of some 7,000 pilgrims of the House of God at the Mina incident, strongly criticizing the silence of countries and governments vis-à-vis this awful and tragic mishap.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution described the silence of governments and even scholars, political activists, intellectuals and elites in the Muslim world on the martyrdom of 7,000 innocent pilgrims as the “great calamity for the Islamic Ummah”, adding: “Lack of sensitivity vis-à-vis such issues as the heartrending and sorrowful Mina incident is what makes the real tragedy for the Muslim world.”   

Ayatollah Khamenei said the Saudi rulers’ refusal to offer a simple verbal apology was indicative of their ultimate impudence and shamelessness, adding: “Even if there was no premeditation [in the Mina deadly crush] so much lack of foresight and incompetence in a governing and political system would amount to an offense.”  

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution continued his address by posing an important question: “When a regime fails even to manage the guests of God, while earning revenues too, how could it guarantee that under similar circumstances incidents like the Mina [crush] would not happen (again)?” 

Ayatollah Khamenei said: “The Iranian nation is standing courageously against Al Saud’s ignorance and misguidance and expresses its Quranic and rightful positions clearly and honorably and other nations and countries must also hold the Saudis accountable courageously.” 

“The incompetence of the Saudis and the insecurity imposed by them against the Hajj pilgrims to the House of God indeed demonstrated that this government is not qualified to manage the Two Holy Mosques and this reality must be spread in the Muslim world and be understood,” said the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

Ayatollah Khamenei said another aspect in the Mina incident was the deadly silence of the self-declared advocates of human rights.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution referred to the political propaganda campaign launched by the so-called human rights bodies regarding the execution of judicial sentences in some countries, saying: “Dead silence vis-à-vis a government’s dawdling in fulfilling its tasks and the deaths of 7,000 oppressed and innocent human beings laid bare the fake identity of the self-declared advocates of human rights and those who pin hopes on international bodies and organizations must learn a lesson from this bitter reality.” 

Ayatollah Khamenei said formation of a fact-finding committee was an obligation and a must for Muslim countries and human rights advocates, adding: “Although one year has passed since that poignant incident, an examination of ocular, recorded written documents would largely shed light on the realities behind the event.” 

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution called on Iranian officials to seriously follow up on the formation of a fact-finding committee, adding: “If Al Saud is assured of its own alleged innocence in the Mina incident, it should not gag mouths with money and let a fact-finding committee closely pursue the issue.”  

In another part of his speech, Ayatollah Khamenei labeled supporters of the Saudi regime as complicit to the crimes of this regime in the Mina tragedy, saying: “Backed by the US, the shameless Saudi regime is impudently standing against Muslims and spilling blood in Yemen, Syria and Iraq. Therefore, the US and other supporters of Riyadh are complicit in the Saudis’ wrongdoing and crimes.” 

Ayatollah Khamenei referred to attempts by foreign-backed propaganda organs to describe the Mina crime as an example of “Shia-Sunni” or “Arab and non-Arab” dispute and conflict, adding: “The propagandists supporting the Saudi rulers are repeating this sheer lie while most of the 7,000 Mina martyrs, including a large number of Iranian martyrs, were Sunnis.” 

“Al Saud and murderous terrorists nurtured and groomed by them are killing people in Yemen and Syria and Iraq. Therefore, despite mischievous propaganda by Western governments, the Saudis are not supporting Arabs and the Mina incident has nothing to do with the media-fabricated conflict between Arabs and non-Arabs,” added the Leader of the Islamic Revolution. 

“The fact of the matter is that the detested Saudis constitute a group in the Muslim world, some of whom knowingly and some unknowingly, are practicing enmity with Muslims, and the Muslim world must stand against them and disavow the masters of Saudis, i.e. the US and wicked Britain,” Ayatollah Khamenei said. 

Concluding his remarks, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution called on different Iranian organs including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Hajj Mission, the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization and the Foundation of Martyrs and War Veterans to fulfill and seriously pursue their assignments vis-à-vis the massive tragic incident of Mina.

Prior to Ayatollah Khamenei’s remarks, Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Ali Qazi Askar, representative of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution for Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs, offered condolences on the martyrdom of the victims of September 8, 1978 when the Shah regime killed Iranian demonstrators, the victims of the 1987 carnage of Iranian pilgrims by the Saudi police and last year’s crush victims. “The two major tragedies in Mina and the Grand Mosque embittered the Hajj’s sweetness and rendered many people and families bereaved.”   

Mr. Qazi Askar highlighted the Saudis’ obstruction of the formation of a fact-finding committee, saying: “The Hajj Mission [affiliated with the Office of] the Leader [of the Islamic Revolution] and the Hajj [and Pilgrimage] Organization, having registered and recorded the remarks of witnesses of the tragedy and in collaboration with lawyers, has identified channels for following up on the incident through international legal bodies and it will not let the Mina incident slip into oblivion.” 

Meantime, Hojjatoleslam Mohammad-Ali Shahidi Mahallati, who heads the Foundation of Martyrs and War Veterans, submitted a report on the measures and activities of the Committee for Commemoration of Mina and Grand Mosque Incidents, saying: “The grievous Mina disaster happened due to Al Saud’s mismanagement and incompetence.”