Iran to send Umrah pilgrims to Saudi Arabia after 9 years

TEHRAN - The government of Iran would be sending over 5,000 Umrah pilgrims to Saudi Arabia after a gap of 9 years.

Mohammad-Hossein Ajilian, incharge of Hajj operations at Iran Airports Company, announced on Saturday that 11 flights are scheduled to transport Iranian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.

The reports carried by IRNA imply that Mashhad's international airport will operate the first flight on Monday and airports in other major cities, including Zahedan, Ahvaz, Tabriz, Yazd, Kerman, Bandar Abbas, Sari, Isfahan, and Shiraz, will charter one flight each subsequently.

In this regard, the airport in Mashahd will operate the last flight to Saudi Arabia on May 2nd. As far as the number of pilgrims is concerned, Iran will be sending 5,720 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia this year.

Both countries resolved their dispute and announced to resumption of Umrah flights in December last year; however, the plans did not materialize at that time.

It was also reported at that time that Saudi Arabia had canceled final permits for Iranian planes to enter the kingdom though the issues seem to have been settled now. 

The resumption of Umrah marks a significant moment following the re-establishment of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia in March 2023. The pilgrimage had ceased in 2015, a year before the two nations severed diplomatic relations.

The controversy between the two countries was the 2015 Hajj stampede which escalated tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran due to the death of Iranian pilgrims. Iranian leaders accused Saudi authorities of being responsible for the disaster that led to a death toll of about 2,000 pilgrims including over 400 Iranians.

The China-mediated negotiations between the two countries are now bearing fruit and the resumption of the Umrah pilgrimage is a step in the same direction.