Tehran, Iran: Iranian authorities organised a demonstration against Saudi Arabia's management of the annual Haj on Friday as it mourned 131 nationals among 717 pilgrims killed in a crush outside Mecca.
Iranian leaders have been deeply critical of the Saudi authorities over what they charge were flawed safety measures that led to Thursday's tragedy.
"Saudi Arabia is incapable of organising the pilgrimage," said Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani, leading the main weekly Muslim prayers in Tehran.
"The running of the Haj must be handed over to Islamic states."
After the prayers, worshippers held a protest against the "mischievous and incompetent regime" in Riyadh, said the Islamic Propagation Coordination Council which organises state-sponsored demonstrations in Iran.
Thursday's loss of life was the biggest to hit the annual Muslim pilgrimage in a quarter-century and came just weeks after a crane collapse in the holy city of Mecca killed more than 100 pilgrims, many of them foreigners.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed "improper measures" and "mismanagement" by Saudi authorities, who he said "must accept the huge responsibility for this catastrophe".
Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia are bitter rivals whose relations are already strained by regional conflicts from Syria to Yemen.
The custodianship of the Muslim holy places forms a key plank in the Saudi monarchy's claims to legitimacy.
Iranian leaders have been deeply critical of the Saudi authorities over what they charge were flawed safety measures that led to Thursday's tragedy.
"Saudi Arabia is incapable of organising the pilgrimage," said Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani, leading the main weekly Muslim prayers in Tehran.
After the prayers, worshippers held a protest against the "mischievous and incompetent regime" in Riyadh, said the Islamic Propagation Coordination Council which organises state-sponsored demonstrations in Iran.
Advertisement
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed "improper measures" and "mismanagement" by Saudi authorities, who he said "must accept the huge responsibility for this catastrophe".
Advertisement
The custodianship of the Muslim holy places forms a key plank in the Saudi monarchy's claims to legitimacy.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Telangana Man, Colleague Die In Saudi Arabia Desert After Losing GPS Signal A Look At Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman's Rise To Power "UFOs Dancing": Boeing Pilot Captures Breathtaking Footage Of Mysterious Objects In Sky INDIA's "Hit With Footwear" Protest In Mumbai Over Shivaji Statue Collapse Celebrated "Russian Spy" Whale Hvaldimir Found Dead In Norway: Report "It's Mom, I Love You": Mother Of Israeli-American Found Dead In Gaza Nurse Molested By Patient During Late Night Shift At West Bengal Hospital Thousands In Australia Without Power Amid Heavy Rains "My Statement Is True": Sonia Malhar vs Jayasurya Over #MeToo Allegations Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.