JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia firmly rejected Iran's criticism of its handling of Haj. “I believe the Iranians should know better than to play politics with a tragedy that has befallen people who were performing their most sacred religious duty,” Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said in New York on Saturday. Jubeir, delivering remarks along with US Secretary of State John Kerry, asserted that Saudi Arabia was on top of the situation. “The Kingdom has had a long history of spending tremendous resources to care for the pilgrimage to ensure that the pilgrims who come there have a successful pilgrimage,” he said. “And we will reveal the facts when they emerge. And we will not hold anything back. If mistakes were made, who made them will be held accountable,” Jubeir said. “And we will make sure that we will learn from this and we will make sure that it doesn't happen again. I want to repeat, this is not a situation with which to play politics. I would hope Iranian leaders would be more sensible and more thoughtful with regards to those who perished in this tragedy, and wait until we see the results of the investigation,” the Saudi foreign minister said. Meanwhile, Chairman of All Pakistan Ulema Council Sheikh Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi said that they stand with the Kingdom and its brotherly people and share their grief. He said, “The world is witnessing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's sincere efforts to provide unparalleled attention and care to the two Holy Mosques and the holy sites as well as its great attention accorded to pilgrims and visitors under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.” Sheikh Ashrafi denounced the negative statements issued by Iran on the Mina stampede, describing these as irresponsible remarks, stressing that Iran should not take advantage of this unfortunate incident for political purposes. He said Iran should review its negative policies and stop its agenda of creating disunity in the ranks of the Ummah.
