29-03-2024 11:42 AM Jerusalem Timing

Iran Rejects Arab Media Reports on Roknabadi’s Visit to Saudi Arabia

Iran Rejects Arab Media Reports on Roknabadi’s Visit to Saudi Arabia

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham strongly rejected on Monday certain Arab media reports alleging that Tehran’s former envoy to Lebanon was on an illegal visit to Saudi Arabia without a visa.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh AfkhamIranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham strongly rejected on Monday certain Arab media reports alleging that Tehran's former envoy to Lebanon was on an illegal visit to Saudi Arabia without a visa, saying that Ghadanfar Roknabadi traveled to the country with his personal passport with a Hajj visa sealed on it.

"He headed to Hajj trip with his ordinary personal passport, and the precise passport information of all Hajj pilgrims, including his, have been provided to the Saudi government authorities and there is no doubt about the relevant information and details and the way that he has entered Saudi Arabia," Afkham said.

"Our colleague at the foreign ministry Mr. Ghadanfar Roknabadi's ordinary passport was sealed with a Hajj visa stamp and based on the received information; under the present conditions and given the necessity for providing the identity documents of all those who have gone missing (in Mina incident), the records related to him, whose name is seen in the list of those who gone missing in Mina incident, have been given to the Saudi officials and the existing media hypes on the issue are incorrect and derived from certain purposes or goals," she added.

Iran: Hajj visa for former diplomat Ghadanfar RoknabadiThe Iranian Foreign Ministry, moreover, posted a photocopy of the official visa obtained by Roknabadi before travelling for Hajj this year, as a proof to unmask the fabricated news by some Arab media outlets.

Afkham remarks came after certain Arab media outlets claimed that Roknabadi had traveled to Saudi Arabia through unofficial channels.

Rokabadi, one of Iran's outstanding diplomats, served as the country's ambassador to Lebanon for several years.

A stampede during one of the last rituals of the Hajj season killed more than 2,000 people and left 2,000 wounded on the first day of Eid al-Adha on Thursday.

The stampede occurred during the ritual known as "stoning the devil" in the tent city of Mina, about two miles from Mecca.

At least 169 Iranians have also lost their lives in the incident, while 150 others have been wounded, 304 more are still missing.

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei declared three days of national mourning over the death of the pilgrims.

Ayatollah Khamenei blasted the Saudi government, saying that Riyadh should accept its responsibility for "mismanagement" and adoption of "improper measures".

"Mismanagement and improper measures that caused this tragedy should not be overlooked,” he said, stressing that "the Saudi government is required to accept its heavy responsibility for this bitter incident and meet its obligations in compliance with the rule of righteousness and fairness".

Moreover, Iranian lawmakers said that the Parliament is planning to investigate the stampede incident.

"The parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission will hold a special session to discuss the stampede in Mecca," member of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mohammad Reza Mohseni Sani told reporters.

He noted that the parliament's commission will discuss the Mina incident in its upcoming meeting.

Eye witnesses said earlier that the Saudi police and security forces had closed two of the few roads to the stone column that were to be used by millions of pilgrims to do the 'Stoning the Devil' ritual on Thursday.

Saeed Ohadi, the head of Iran's Hajj organization, accused Saudi Arabia of safety errors and mismanagement.

He said for "unknown reasons" the paths had been closed off near the scene of the symbolic stoning of the devil ritual where the accident later took place.

"This caused this tragic incident," he told the Iranian state television.