TEHRAN — Iranian pilgrims will start arriving in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Dec. 19, to perform Umrah after a hiatus of eight years. This was announced by Abbas Hosseini, head of Iran's Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization. Addressing a press conference in Tehran on Tuesday, Hosseini said that there will be 550 pilgrims in the first batch. "The pilgrims will head to the House of God in Makkah on Dec. 19. The pilgrims will stay 10 days in Saudi Arabia, five days of which in Makkah and five days in Madinah," the Islamic Republic of Iran News Agency (IRNA) reported, quoting him as saying. Hosseini said that a decision has been taken with regard to the resumption of Iranian Umrah flights after carrying out the necessary consultations and coordination with the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and the signing of memorandums of understanding and contracts in this regard. He said that the first group of pilgrims will depart for Saudi Arabia from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport and later Umrah flights will also be operated from airports in other cities like Mashhad, Tabriz, Isfahan, Yazd, Kerman, Ahvaz, Shiraz, Sari and Zahedan, he noted. Hosseini said that a total of 70,000 Iranian pilgrims in 550 batches will perform Umrah during this period. The dispatch of Umrah pilgrims will continue until February 29, ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, he added. Hosseini said those who did the initial registration for the pilgrimage back in 2008 can complete the registration process to take part in the pilgrimage. Noting that 5.7 million Iranians are in line waiting for their turn to take part in Umrah pilgrimage, he added that the organization is ready to send between 800,000 and one million pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for Umrah every year if the conditions are right and other related bodies provide the necessary cooperation. Iran and Saudi Arabia re-established diplomatic ties in March 2023 through a China-mediated agreement, marking a significant development after severing relations in 2016. Iran stopped sending Umrah pilgrims in 2015, one year before severing diplomatic relations.
