For the First Time After a Gap of 8 Years, Iran will Again Send Umrah Pilgrims to Saudi Arabia Starting Next Week

JAKARTA - Iran will again send Umrah pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for the first time after an 8-year break, a sign of improving relations between the two countries, with flights due to take place next week.

Flights will take off from 10 airports across the country carrying Iranians on the Umrah pilgrimage throughout the year, said the semi-official Fars news agency, quoted by Reuters 14 December.

The head of Iran's Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization said the first caravan of Umrah pilgrims would begin their journey to Mecca next week.

"After the necessary coordination with Saudi Hajj officials, as well as the signing of relevant memorandums and contracts, the first convoy of Umrah pilgrims will be sent to Saudi Arabia on December 19," Seyyed Abbas Hosseini told reporters, citing Mehr News Agency.

He further said that as part of the first caravan, the official said, 550 Iranian pilgrims would spend 10 days performing the Umrah pilgrimage, with 5 days in Medina and 5 days in Mecca.

Abbas added that an agreement had been reached with Saudi officials so that 70,000 Iranians could perform the Hajj pilgrimage to the Holy Land by the end of the calendar year.

It is known that China brokered an agreement in March, in which Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed full diplomatic relations that were interrupted in 2016, when Riyadh executed a Shiite cleric and stormed the Saudi Embassy in Tehran.

Since 2016, Iranian pilgrims have only been able to complete the Hajj, subject to strict annual quotas and timelines.

Negotiations between Iran and Saudi Arabia also aim to re-establish non-religious tourism between the two countries, with flights connecting their capitals.