Iran has summoned the Saudi envoy to Tehran for the fourth time to protest over what the Shiite powerhouse describes as the Sunni kingdom's “mishandling” of the deadly crush last week during the hajj pilgrimage.
Iran's English language Press TV on Wednesday quoted foreign ministry official Ali Chegini as warning Riyadh against any delays in the identification of missing Iranian pilgrims and the repatriation of the bodies of those who died in the disaster.
Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian told the official IRNA news agency that the families of the killed Iranian pilgrims do not agree that their kin be buried on Saudi soil.
Saudi Arabia says 769 died in the stampede near Mecca. It was the worst disaster to strike the annual pilgrimage in a quarter-century.
