Qurashi of the National Committee for Haj and Umrah has said that the banning of Iranian pilgrims from Umrah in Ramadan due to swine flu threats will not affect business as Iranians “have not been performing the pilgrimage during the holy month for several years”. Al-Qurashi, who is the deputy chairman of the committee which pertains to the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce, added that six Umrah companies had agreements with the Iranian government and that some 789,000 Iranians had performed Umrah since the beginning of the current year, an increase of 40 percent on the previous year's tally of 450, 000. According to Al-Qurashi, the total number of all Umrah pilgrims so far this year shows an increase of 359,000 on last year. Earlier this week, Tehran decided to stop Iranians from going to the holy places to perform Umrah during Ramadan due to serious concerns over contracting swine flu. The decision was announced by Majlis Health Committee deputy chairman Hosseinali Shahriari. So far, 105 people have been diagnosed with swine flu in Iran, compared to over 600 in Saudi Arabia where seven people have also died.
