RIYADH - Saudi Arabia warned on Monday that it would not tolerate disturbances during the hajj later this month, after senior officials told Tehran not to politicise the annual mass pilgrimage to Mecca.
In a statement after its weekly meeting, the cabinet said "the kingdom does not permit any party to disrupt the security of the pilgrims or to attempt to divide the ranks of Muslims," the official SPA news agency reported.
The cabinet called on the hundreds of thousands of faithful who have already begun to gather in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina to "do nothing to interfere with the successful progress of hajj rites."
The statement did not mention Iran, but it came one week after Saudi Hajj Minister Fuad al-Farsi said Iran "should not take advantage of the pilgrimage for political purposes and its own agenda."
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have both alleged that predominantly Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia might abuse mainly Shiite Iranian pilgrims during the hajj, which peaks on November 25-29.
On October 26 Ahmadinejad warned Tehran would "take the appropriate measures" if Iranian pilgrims were restricted, while Khamenei referred to alleged "insults and mistreatment against some Shiite Muslims," saying "the Saudi government must take action against such acts."
Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh also joined the war of words between the regional rivals.
He told the Saudi-controlled regional daily Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat last week that making false claims about the hajj only confuses pilgrims and is sinful.
"Those who want to use the pilgrimage and spread falsehoods and propaganda for their personal goals and needs, doing this to take advantage of the occasion, are doing something forbidden by Islam," he said.
Churches urge 'resistance' to Israeli settlements