Iran suspends participation in annual hajj pilgrimage as relations with Saudi plummet

Source: www.sltrib.com --- Thursday, May 12, 2016
Iran announced Thursday it will suspend its participation in the annual hajj, the pilgrimage to saudiarabia that is a religious duty for all Muslims, in the latest sign of deteriorating relations between the two Middle Eastern heavyweights. The decision comes amid Iran’s increasingly strident criticism over how saudiarabia manages the pilgrimage in the wake of a disaster last September that resulted in the deaths of at least 2,000 pilgrims, including 464 Iranians, according to reports. Iranian...