Prince Ahmed: Iran to comply with Haj rules

MINA: Iran has agreed to comply with all Haj regulations, Interior Minister and Chairman of the Supreme Haj Committee Prince Ahmed announced yesterday.
Speaking to reporters after inspecting Haj preparations at the holy sites, he said the 15 Iranians, who were arrested by the border guards on Thursday, had entered the Kingdom by mistake while heading for Kuwait.
He reiterated that the Kingdom would not prevent any Syrian Haj pilgrims from entering the Kingdom while reporting an increase in the number of pilgrims from certain countries.
Prince Ahmed said Saudi authorities would investigate cases of deaths while Nigerian women pilgrims were denied entry to the Kingdom for violating regulations.
He urged the Haj Ministry to take measures to control prices charged by agencies that serve domestic pilgrims. “The Kingdom carries out more development projects in order to meet the requirements of growing numbers of Haj and Umrah pilgrims,” he said.
Earlier yesterday, Prince Ahmed inspected security arrangements in Makkah, Mina and other holy sites. “Preparations have been completed for Haj to help the guests of God perform their rituals in peace and tranquility,” the Prince said, adding that the Kingdom would not allow anybody to tamper with Haj security.
Prince Ahmed began his tour from the camps of special emergency forces stationed along the Taif-Makkah Expressway, where Director General of Public Security General Saeed Al-Qahtani and Commander of Haj Forces Maj. Gen. Saad Al-Khelaiwi greeted him.
In his welcome speech, Gen. Al-Qahtani said Saudi Arabia and its people consider the opportunity to serve the guests of God a great honor. “Over the past years, Saudi Arabia has been exerting all possible efforts for the success of the Haj pilgrimage,” he added.
He described the security situation for Haj as “excellent.” He remembered the late Prince Naif, who had played a great role in developing the Kingdom’s security forces.
Prince Ahmed, Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, senior Cabinet members and top officials later watched a parade of various security forces with their equipment.