Hajj stampede: Tehran protesters throw tomatoes at Saudi embassy

An Iranian protester throws a tomato at the Saudi Arabia's Embassy in Tehran
Picture: AP/Vahid Salemi

The Saudis are not taking responsibility for the Mina stampede which saw 769 people killed during the hajj pilgrimage
Hundreds of protesters in Tehran threw tomatoes at the Saudi Arabian embassy on Sunday as Iran’s supreme leader accusedRiyadh of “passing the buck” over the deaths of hundreds of people crushed in last week’s disaster at the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

The death toll from the disaster rose over the weekend to 769. Iranians are the largest total of foreign pilgrims within that number, with 144 confirmed dead and Tehran saying 323 are missing in total.

An Iranian protester throws a tomato at the Saudi embassy during a protest in Tehran EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

Some local doctors say the final toll could be more than 1,000. Among the missing are said to be a former Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, and Ali Asghar Fouladgar, identified as a Middle East analyst but thought to be a senior former leader in Iran's Revolutionary Guard.







The disaster at the hajj, which has seen a number of previous tragedies though not on this scale, has caused fury in Iran, worsened by comments by Saudi officials in the immediate aftermath seen as trying to shift the blame to pilgrims not following the rules.

Iranian protesters throw tomatoes at the Saudi embassy EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

"Instead of blaming this and that, the Saudis should accept the responsibility and apologise to the Muslims and the victims' amilies," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, said.

"The Islamic world has a lot of questions. Thedeath of more than 1,000 people is not a small issue. Muslim countries should focus on this.”

He had previously accused the Saudi authorities of “mismanagement and improper measures”.

Demonstrators throw tomatos and chant slogans during the protest REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi

The Saudis hit back, accusing Iran, its longstanding rival for power in the Middle East, of “playing politics” with the tragedy.

"This is not a situation with which to play politics," Adel al-Jubeir, the foreign minister, said in New York.


"I would hope that the 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.