‘Reasons behind Mina tragedy must be revelaed’

Addressing the welcome ceremony for the first batch of the bodies of the killed Iranian Hajj pilgrims at Tehran Mehrabad Airport on Saturday, President Rouhani extended his condolences to the bereaved families of Mina victims and thanked the officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran who took part at the ceremony this morning to honor ‘the holy bodies of those who died in Mina.’

He ensured the Iranian nation will not forgive the culprits in killing their loved ones in Mina.

“The language of Iranian government regarding the incident is of brotherhood, courtesy and diplomatic nature, however, where necessary we will use the language of authority,” President Rouhani said, insisting on necessity of revealing the truth about the incident. “All nations and Islamic countries need to understand why the tragedy occurred and ensure such tragedies will not happen in future,” he added.

He also expressed gratitude to the wise and authoritative remarks by Iranian Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on Wednesday.

The ceremony was held on Saturday morning for the Mina victims with the presence of President Hassan Rouhani, Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadegh Amoli Larijani, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, Head of the Leader’s Office Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, Armed Forces commanders and other high-ranking officials.

104 bodies of dead Iranian pilgrims arrived at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport early Saturday. A total of 465 Iranian pilgrims, of more than 5,000 total number of victims, lost their lives during the Hajj rituals in Mina, near Mecca, which led to a dadly stampede.