President urges preventing Mina tragedy to happen in future

President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday Muslim states should make sure that catastrophic events such as what happened in Mina, Mecca on September 24, will not happen in the future.

Speaking in a ceremony held to honor Mina victims’ arrival in the country, he said that Iran used the language of brotherhood and politeness and in some circumstances it used diplomacy but if needed, Iran may use the language of power.

The Mina tragedy was a test for Iran, Saudi Arabia, international bodies and Islamic states, President Rouhani noted.

He underlined that Iranian nation and officials were honored to practice patience during the incident and in the aftermath of the problem.

President Rouhani thanked all Iranian officials and the leader’s powerful support for efforts to help the injured pilgrims and to return back the bodies of Iranian victims.

Government would pursue the case of Mina tragedy and will inform people about the result, he noted.

President Rouhani urged establishment of a fact-finding committee for Mina tragedy to find out the reasons behind the incident.

The fact-finding committee should find if anybody is guilty for the incident or not and Iranian nation and government will not give up efforts for punishing those responsible for the tragedy, President Rouhani noted.

The president offered his condolences to the bereaved families of victims in Iran and all around the world.

President Rouhani attended the welcome ceremony for the first batch of the bodies of the dead Iranian Hajj pilgrims who were killed in Mina tragedy in Mecca on September 24.

The ceremony was held on Saturday morning for the Mina victims in the presence of President Rouhani, Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadegh Amoli Larijani, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, Head of the Supreme Leader’s Office Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, armed forces commanders and other high ranking Iranian officials.
104 bodies of dead Iranian pilgrims arrived at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport early Saturday.

A total of 465 Iranian pilgrims lost their lives during the Hajj rituals in Mina, Mecca.

The disaster occurred when according to reports two large groups of pilgrims arrived together at a crossroads in Mina, a few kilometers east of Mecca, on their way to perform the ‘stoning of the devil’ ritual at Jamarat.

The event served to raise the name of Hajj victims in the world and initiated a wave to condemn the incompetence and mismanagement of the Saudi officials in administrating Muslims largest annual ritual.

Commenting on the tragic incident, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei underlined formation of a fact-finding committee, comprising Muslim countries including Iran, to probe the case of Mina human tragedy.