As a consequence of strengthening relations between the two Middle Eastern countries, Iran’s official news agency announced that the first group of Iranian pilgrims to go to Saudi Arabia for the Umrah, or small pilgrimage, in nine years arrived on Monday.
Tehran claimed that “technical problems” were the reason behind the delays in flights, which continued till now. In December, Iranian media reported that Saudi Arabia had removed restrictions on Iranians wishing to conduct Umrah.
China brokered a deal in March 2023 that saw the restoration of full diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which had been severed since 2016 after Riyadh’s death of a Shia cleric and the subsequent storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
Iranians could only undertake the Hajj pilgrimage, which is considered a mandatory religious obligation for Muslims who intend to complete it once in their lifetime, prior to the restoration of diplomatic relations. There is a certain period of year that the Hajj must be completed, and there are tight yearly limits.
Muslims are not required to conduct the Umrah; it can be done whenever it is convenient for them.
Abdullah bin Saud al-Anzi, the Saudi ambassador to Iran, was present at the 85 pilgrims’ goodbye ceremony at Tehran’s major airport.
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