Gulf crisis: Iran to be allowed to set up temporary consulates in Saudi Arabia during Haj

Tehran: Iran will be allowed to set up temporary consulates in Saudi Arabia during the Haj pilgrimage despite the absence of diplomatic ties between the two rivals, the foreign ministry in Tehran said on Tuesday. [caption id=“attachment_3278230” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Bin Nayef on Haj pilgrimage. Reuters[/caption] “Some officials from the foreign ministry’s consular section will be deployed to Jeddah, Mecca and Medina to provide consular services to Iranian pilgrims during the Haj,” spokesman Bahram Ghasemi was quoted by the ISNA news agency. Iranians were unable to attend the Haj in 2016 after talks on security and logistics fell apart. But an agreement was reached earlier this year to allow Iranians to take part in this September’s Haj. The two countries severed diplomatic ties in January 2016 after Iranians stormed Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran in response to the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. The region’s two leading powers back opposing sides in several conflicts, including in Syria and Yemen. More than 1.8 million faithfully took part in last year’s Haj. The pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam and all Muslims who must perform it at least once in their lives.