First Batch of Iranian Umrah Pilgrims to Leave for Land of Revelation Next Week
Gholam Reza Rezaei, the deputy of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, made the announcement at a meeting in Tehran on Tuesday, adding that 500 pilgrims will leave the country for the holy city of Medina from international airports in Tehran and Mashhad on Monday.
He noted that a total of 5,000 individuals will make the spiritual trip in the first phase.
According to the plans, the pilgrims will stay in Saudi Arabia for ten says, the official added.
He also highlighted the preparations made to serve the Iranian pilgrims in terms of accommodation, food, transportation, etc.
During the meeting, which was also attended by Hojat-ol-Islam Seyed Abdol Fattah Navab, the representative of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs, a report was also presented on preparation for the participation of Iranians in this year’s Hajj pilgrimage.
The first batch of Iranian pilgrims had been scheduled to take part in Umrah for the first time after 9 years in December last year but the dispatch was delayed due to some problems.
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Umrah differs from Hajj in that the latter is a lengthier visit which is done once a year and performed once in a lifetime by able-bodied Muslims who can afford it.
Iran stopped sending Umrah pilgrims to Saudi Arabia after two Iranian teenage boys were harassed in an airport in the Saudi city of Jeddah in March 2015.
That came nearly a year before the two countries cut their diplomatic relations.
Iran and Saudi Arabia re-established diplomatic ties in March 2023 through a China-mediated agreement, marking a significant development after severing relations in 2016.
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