On Thursday, May 12, 2016, Iran announced the suspension of its participation in the annual Haj. In justification of this decision, Iran said that Saudi Arabia was refusing to meet the conditions of Iranian pilgrims. According to the Saudi Press Agency, these conditions are as follows: Firstly, the granting of Saudi visas to pilgrims from inside Iran. Since diplomatic ties between the two countries have been severed, it has been agreed that Switzerland will run consular affairs in Tehran concerning Saudi visas for Iranian pilgrims. Saudi Arabia did the same with Libyan pilgrims when the Saudi embassy in Tripoli was closed and it authorized the Saudi embassy in Tunisia to grant visas. The Saudi Ministry of Haj and Umrah said that Iranian pilgrims can obtain visas electronically. Secondly, the redrafting of the paragraph related to civil aviation with regard to an even split of pilgrims among Iranian and Saudi air-carriers is considered by many experts in this field to be contrary to international practice. Finally, with regard to the inclusion of paragraphs in the record allowing pilgrims to collectively mark ceremonies of "supplication of Kumail, and dissociation (tabarri)" and to distribute an Iranian pilgrims' magazine, the Ministry says that such gatherings hinder the smooth flow of Haj rituals for other pilgrims. There is nothing new in Iran's exploitation of the Haj season for its own political agenda. It is similar to the Indian films of the late 1980s with their repetitive stories of a hero who takes revenge on a criminal who has killed his family, then falls in love with the daughter of that criminal - always the same plot but with different heroes. The Iranian story during Haj is similarly tedious and repetitive. Since the outbreak of the Revolution in 1979, Iran has held demonstrations during Haj under the pretext of "dissociation from idolaters", a slogan obliged on Iranians and believers of welayat-e-faqih by Khomeini, in which Iranian pilgrims march, chanting slogans such as "death to America" and "death to Israel". Khomeini considered the "declaration of dissociation from idolaters" a religious and political duty; one of the pillars and political duties of the monotheistic obligatory Haj. He claimed that Haj is not complete without the performance of such duties. This version of the Iranian story of Haj goes back to the outbreak of the Iranian Revolution and was reflected in the events of 1987 in Makkah which led to the deaths of 402 people, the events of 1989 in Almoaisem tunnel, and other events through which Iran tried to destabilize security and stability during the Haj. Saudi Arabia always insists that the seasons of Haj and Umrah should not be politicized and prevents any attempt to create chaos. In the last session of the Council of Ministers chaired by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia repeated its response to Iran's suspension of participation in the annual Haj by "rejecting attempts by Iranian pilgrims to politicize the Haj and exploit it to bring into disrepute Saudi Arabia, which uses all its material and human facilities in the service of pilgrims to ensure their security and comfort during their stay". Moreover, Iran seems to be trying to use this Haj season to come out of isolation at Arab and Islamic levels following its attacks on the Saudi embassy and consulate in Tehran and Mashhad, which were condemned in the emergency meeting of foreign ministers of Arab countries held on January 10, 2016. Iran's isolation was evident in the meeting which also condemned Iranian interference in the affairs of Arab countries, particularly in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. The same condemnation was repeated in the ministerial meeting of the Arab League held on March 10, 2016. The two events put more diplomatic and political pressure on Iran by Arab countries that represent the surrounding region. Later, on April 15, 2016, the final statement of the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation held in Istanbul explicitly denounced Iran's continuous "support of terrorism" and its "interference" in the affairs of the countries of the region. As a result of this statement, Iran lost the Arab and Islamic tools that it previously resorted to in order to legitimize its hostile political discourse against Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries and to disguise its interference in the affairs of other countries. Following the political breakthrough subsequent to the nuclear deal, Iran is believed to have had a historic opportunity to work on improving its international relations with the countries of the region and the Islamic world based on principles of good neighborliness, non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, respect for their independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity and the resolution of disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international conventions. However, unfortunately, it has continued with its approach of hostile discourse, interference in the affairs of other countries, and the support of terrorist organizations, which will increase its isolation not only among Arabs and other Muslim countries, but also internationally. — Dr. Ibrahim Al-Othaimin is a Middle East affairs specialist and security analyst based in Riyadh. He can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Alothaimin
