Iranian pilgrims to travel to Saudi from Dec 19 after 8 year pause

In the latest indication of improving relations between the two Gulf adversaries that produce oil, Iranian media said on Wednesday that Iranian pilgrims will start visiting Saudi Arabia regularly for the first time in eight years on December 19.

According to the semi-official Fars news agency, flights carrying Iranians making the annual Umrah pilgrimage to the Islamic holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia will depart from ten airports around Iran.

Fars stated that the first group of Iranian pilgrims to perform the Umrah will depart on December 19.

China negotiated a deal in March that saw the restoration of full diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which had been severed in 2016 over Riyadh’s killing of a Shi’ite Muslim cleric and the subsequent seizure of the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

Since 2016, Iranian pilgrims have only been allowed to finish the haj, a religious obligation that is strictly regulated by annual quotas and timings and is considered mandatory for Muslims who intend to perform it once in their lives.

It is now possible for Iranians to perform the Umrah as well; this “lesser pilgrimage” is not usually considered obligatory in Islam and can be done at any time of the year.

The goal of talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran is also to revive nonreligious travel between the two nations, with aircraft connecting their capitals.

According to Fars, by the end of February 2024, up to 70,000 Iranian pilgrims are anticipated to visit Saudi Arabia.

(With agency inputs)