Iran will summon Saudi ambassador

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi has said Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Tehran will soon be summoned to Iran’s foreign ministry.

“Due to Saudi police misbehavior with Iranian pilgrims, the country’s ambassador to Tehran will soon be summoned to Iran’s Foreign Ministry,” Qashqavi said at his weekly press conference on Monday.

“The order was issued by the Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki last night following the report of the Leader’s representative for Hajj affairs, Mohammad Mohammadi Reishahri, about the misconduct,” he added.

Qashqavi’s remarks come after Police in Saudi Arabia recently insulted Iranian female Hajj pilgrims by fingerprinting them at Jeddah International Airport.

It was not the first time that the Saudi police have fingerprinted Iranians entering the country for participating in the Hajj.

In August, 2007, Saudi police insulted Iranian Hajj pilgrims by taking mug shots and fingerprinting them at Jeddah International Airport. They also scanned and have maintained records of Iranian pilgrims’ passports and other documents since the beginning of the year.

According to international law, only those travelers deemed to be criminals or terrorists can be fingerprinted.

Earlier, Reishahri warned that such offenses against the Iranian pilgrims are aimed at weakening unity between Iran and Saudi Arabia.