Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei renewed criticism of Saudi Arabia over how it runs the Haj after a crush last year killed hundreds of pilgrims, and suggested Muslim countries think about ending Riyadh’s control of the annual pilgrimage. In this Sept. 24, 2015, file photo, a Muslim pilgrim walks through the site where dead bodies are gathered after a stampede during the annual hajj pilgrimage, in Mina, Saudi Arabia. Iran, Saudi Arabia’s main regional rival, blamed the disaster on organisers’ incompetence. An official Saudi inquiry has yet to be published, but authorities suggested at the time some pilgrims ignored crowd control rules. Riyadh accuses Tehran of destabilising Arab states and spreading sectarianism by backing militias in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen and fomenting unrest in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Source: Hindustan Times September 05, 2016 12:11 UTC