Tehran Friday Prayer Leader:

Al Saud cruel enough to deprive people from Hajj rituals

Rasa – Ayatollah Movahedi-Kermani said on Friday in his second sermon that the Saudis, “who created obstacles for pilgrims during the Hajj and have deprived the Iranian people from paying tribute to the ‘House of God’ [Ka’bah], are regarded as the most tyrant people in the world.”

News ID: 422650

Date: 06 August 2016 - 12:08

RNA – The temporary Friday prayer leader of Tehran, Ayatollah Mohammad-Ali Movahedi-Kermani, said that the House of Saud should know that their misdeed will ire anger of Muslims and they will be losers both in this world and eternal life [the Day of Judgement].”

Elsewhere in his sermon, the renowned cleric said irregular payments should be returned back to public assets.

Ayatollah Movahedi-Kermani said, “Those not knowing that the unconventional and astronomical salaries were un-Islamic and illegitimate, should return them back to public assets.”

He said part of the salaries have been returned back to the public assets, while thanking the depositors.

He then referred to Saudis’ efforts to ban Iranians to do their Hajj rituals and said so doing, the Saudis will face divine chastisement.

Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran on January 3 following demonstrations held in front of its embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad by angry protesters censuring the Al Saud family for the execution of prominent Shi’a cleric Shaykh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr in Riyadh on January 2.

Shaykh al-Nimr’s execution caused international outrage and sparked anti-Saudi demonstrations in many other countries.

Riyadh has been attempting to rock the boat in relations between Iran and other world states and has spared no efforts to pressure Tehran.

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) claimed in April that Mahan Air was banned due to alleged violations of local safety rules. The GACA claimed in a statement that several violations related to airline safety had been committed by Mahan Air.

Immediately after the announcement, Director of Civil Aviation Organization Reza Jafarzadeh said Iranian airlines had never tried to land or make any request to fly in the Saudi airspace.

In a statement at the time, Jafarzadeh said Saudi authorities should explain why they claim they have withdrawn licenses given to Mahan Air to land in the Persian Gulf kingdom or fly in its airspace over ‘safety’ claims.

“No Iranian airline, including Mahan Air, has ever asked to land in Saudi Arabia or fly in its airspace. Iranian airlines have stopped their flight services to Saudi Arabia altogether. It just doesn’t make any sense for the Saudis to question the safety of Iranian jet airliners,” he added.

This is while trade between Iran and Saudi Arabia has mostly been small and each year only Iranian pilgrims travel to the kingdom for the Hajj pilgrimage.

Also in April, Ground Force Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour said Saudi Arabia is masterminding terrorist attacks on the Islamic Republic by training and funding terrorist groups along the borders.

Speaking to reporters, Pakpour said Iran has arrested terrorists that have confessed to their affiliation to Saudi Arabia and some other Persian Gulf Arab states.

Pakpour said Riyadh is striving hard to make Iran insecure, and added, “Right now, countries like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are engaged in organizing and equipping these groups but the reason why no terrorist act is committed is due to our preparedness.”

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