“Language of Might” Iran’s Viable Option after Mina Deaths: President


“Language of Might” Iran’s Viable Option after Mina Deaths: President

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday that the country may resort, if necessary, to the language of might, apart from courtesy and diplomacy, to cope with the deaths of 464 Iranian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.

“Our language in this incident has been the language of affection, fraternity and politeness, and the language of diplomacy has been also used in the right place, and if necessary, the Islamic Republic of Iran will also employ its language of might,” President Rouhani said on Saturday.

He made the comments in a ceremony at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport to receive the first convoy of the Iranian pilgrims killed in Mina, near Mecca.

The bodies of 104 pilgrims in Iranian flag-draped coffins were repatriated in the ceremony. A total of 464 Iranians have been killed in the bloodiest Hajj disaster.

Elsewhere in his comments, the Iranian president called for measures to determine if anybody is at fault for the tragic incident, stressing that Tehran will not let the perpetrators go unpunished if any of the Saudi forces are proved to have made a mistake in the disaster.

President Rouhani also emphasized the need for the formation of a fact-finding committee to shed light on the cause of the incident.

“The whole Islamic nations and countries should know why this catastrophe has occurred and should be ensured that such catastrophes will not happen in coming years,” he added.

The return of the bodies from Saudi Arabia came a few days after Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei sent a clear message to the Saudi government.

Addressing a military ceremony on Wednesday, Imam Khamenei warned Riyadh that the slightest disrespect for the Iranian pilgrims or its failure to repatriate the bodies of victims will draw Iran’s “severe and tough reaction".

The Islamic Republic of Iran has had respect for fraternity in the Islamic world up to now, showing self-restraint and Islamic politeness, Imam Khamenei noted.

Saudi rulers have come under heavy fire for their incompetence in handling the annual Hajj pilgrimage. This year’s tragic incident in Mina claimed nearly 4,700 lives, ten percent of whom were from Iran.

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