Iranian Umrah Pilgrims Arrive In Saudi Arabia After 8 Years Ban

JEDDAH – Umrah flights for Iranian Umrah Pilgrims have been banned since 2015

After a long pause of 8 years, the Iranian pilgrims will resume their Umrah journey in Saudi Arabia. As per reports it has been announced by the head of Iran’s Hajj Organisation, Mr Abbas Hosseini, that the Iranian pilgrims will arrive in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday 19th December 2023 

In the press conference held on Tuesday in Tehran, Abbas informed that the total number of Umrah Pilgrims is 550 and that they will stay in Saudi Arabia for 10 days. It was further elaborated that there will be a 5-day stay in Madinah and a 5-day stay in Makkah.

It is worth noting that the decision to resume the Umrah flight for Iranis was made after signing the necessary memorandums and carrying out necessary consultations with the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah. After a mutual understanding between the two countries, it was decided that the flights would also be operated from other Iranian cities which include Kerman, Ahvaz, Tabriz, Mashhad, Yazd, Shiraz, Sari, and Zahedan

As per Abbas Hosseini, a total of 70,000 Iranian pilgrims in a batch of 550 will perform Umrah which will continue until 29th February ahead of the Holy Month of Ramadan. Moreover, the ones who did Umrah Registration in 2008 can also take part in the holy journey

Reports from the Islamic Republic of Iran News Agency (IRNA) suggest that the organization is ready to send 800,000 and one million pilgrims to Umrah every year keeping in view that more than 5.7 million Iranians are waiting to take part in the Umrah journey. However, the agreement would only continue if the conditions remain acceptable every year and cooperation is provided

Back in 2015, Iran stopped sending Umrah pilgrims to Saudi Arabia just one year before its diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia deteriorated over regional and political disputes