Tehran, September 07: Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman says his country has not received any clear response from Saudi Arabia’s officials regarding the missing Iranian pilgrim.
“We have provided Saudi Arabia’s police, security officials and Hajj Organization with all information and documents regarding the pilgrim [Shahram Amiri] who went missing in Saudi Arabia’s turf,” Hassan Qashqavi said on Monday.
“But, we have not received any clear response from Saudi Arabia’s officials regarding the case,” he went on to say.
“We hope the officials make more of an effort to find the Iranian pilgrim as his family is very worried,” he further explained.
Qashqavi also pointed out that Amiri’s entrance to Saudi Arabia and his disappearance in the country was confirmed by Saudi officials.
“According to consulate conventions, Saudi Arabia is responsible for the fate of the Iranian pilgrim,” he noted.
Amiri went missing after he traveled to Saudi Arabia for the Umrah Hajj (a shortened version of the major hajj pilgrimage) on the 4th of June 2009.
According to his wife, the missing Iranian pilgrim has not contacted the family except for a few phone calls he made at the beginning of his trip.
While Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca performed during a specified period of the year, Umrah is a similar pilgrimage that can be undertaken at any time of the year.
The Islamic Republic has recently imposed certain restrictions on the upcoming annual Hajj pilgrimage amid fears about the rapid spread of swine flu in the northern hemisphere.
—–Agencies