
Deputy Hajj minister inspects Iranian pilgrims' accommodations in Makkah
Saudi Gazette report
JEDDAH— Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Abdulfattah Mashat on Monday visited the accommodations of Iranian pilgrims in Makkah to assess their conditions and ensure the quality of services provided to them.
The visit is in implementation of the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and based on the recommendation of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman to facilitate all the needs of Iranian pilgrims and provide them with full services until their safe return home.
As part of the visit, Dr. Mashat toured the Iranian Hajj Affairs Office in Makkah and met with Dr. Alireza Bayat, head of Iran Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization. The meeting addressed arrangements and mechanisms to ensure the comfort and safety of Iranian pilgrims throughout their stay in the Kingdom.
Dr. Bayat expressed his deep gratitude for the care and attention Iranian pilgrims receive from the government of Saudi Arabia. He also praised the efforts of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and all relevant authorities to facilitate the pilgrims' journey and ensure their comfort and safety.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Saudi Gazette
3 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Trump abruptly leaves G7 Summit as Israel-Iran conflict intensifies
CALGARY, Alberta — US President Donald Trump departed the Group of Seven – or G7 – summit being held in a resort town in the Canadian Rockies on Monday night due to the intensifying conflict between Israel and Iran and growing regional instability in the Middle East. World leaders at the summit scrambled to find a way to contain the five-day-old conflict that has taken the lives of dozens of people across Israel and Iran. Earlier, Trump had warned that Tehran needs to dismantle its nuclear program before it's 'too late'. The US president said Iranian leaders would 'like to talk' but they had already had 60 days to reach an agreement on their nuclear ambitions and failed to do so before an Israeli aerial assault began four days ago. 'They have to make a deal,' he said. Summie host, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the world is looking to the G7 for leadership during these testing times. 'We're gathering at one of those turning points in history,' Carney said. 'The world's more divided and dangerous.'British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz convened for an informal meeting lasting one hour shortly after their arrival at the summit late on speaking to reporters at the summit, said his country is planning to draft a final communique proposal on the conflict, stressing that Iran must under no condition 'be allowed' to acquire nuclear weapons-capable said Iran "is not winning this war. And they should talk and they should talk immediately before it's too late.' The US president was also asked on whether Washington will join Israel in its military operation in Iran, but Trump declined to comment on the Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Monday that they have signed a trade deal that will slash tariffs on UK auto and aerospace industry new deal was announced on the sidelines of the summit. Trump and Starmer did however note that negotiations are still ongoing on the steel production insists that the deal with the UK is 'fair for both', adding that he expects it to produce a lot of jobs and income for both nations. Starmer took a similar tone to Trump as he addressed reporters saying the deal is a sign of strength and a 'very good day' for both an agreement is significant as Trump has threatened much of the world with substantial import tariffs that have caused market instability and heightened the risk of a global trade he has backed off on several of his suggested tariffs, he has persisted in indicating that officials from his administration are vigorously engaged in negotiations for new trade agreements with numerous nations — despite the fact that very few have come to agreement follows the leaders' announcement in May revealing that they'd reached a framework for a trade pact. This pact aims to significantly reduce US import taxes on British cars, steel, and aluminum in exchange for enhanced access to the British market for US goods, such as beef and the agreement reached on Monday exclusively addresses British cars and aerospace materials, with further negotiations required for says the new deal would give British firms like Rolls Royce which produces engines for airplanes as well as high-end luxury vehicles a major boost, receiving an exemption from the 10% tariffs originally US president also stirred controversy at the summit as he suggested that the G7 should expand to the G8, including Russia, or even the G9 with expressed his preference for the organization's expansion despite the fact that Russia and China are authoritarian regimes within a group whose members are democratic asserted that it was a 'very big mistake' to remove Russia in 2014 after it annexed Crimea, a move that preceded Russia's wider invasion of Ukraine in comments added more complexity regarding Trump's interests as he is set to meet on Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about ending the brutal war started by the invasion.'The G7 used to be the G8. Barack Obama and a person named Trudeau didn't want to have Russia in,' Trump said, referring to Justin Trudeau, who was elected prime minister a year after Russia's removal. Stephen Harper was the Canadian prime minister at the time.'I think you wouldn't have a war right now if you had Russia in, and you wouldn't have a war right now if Trump were president four years ago,' Trump said. 'They threw Russia out, which I claimed was a very big mistake, even though I wasn't in politics then.'Asked by a reporter if China should also be added, Trump said: 'It's not a bad idea. I don't mind that if somebody wants to see just China coming in.'The US president said it's important for world leaders to be able to speak with one another at summits.'Putin speaks to me. He doesn't speak to anybody else," Trump said. "He doesn't want to talk because he was very insulted when he got thrown out of the G8, as I would be, as you would be, as anybody would be.' — Euronews


Saudi Gazette
3 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Iran arrests dozens amid fears of infiltration by Israeli spies
TEHRAN — Iran has arrested dozens of people on suspicion of spying as fears grow in the Islamic Republic over the extent of its infiltration by Israel's Mossad intelligence service. Since Israeli strikes began Friday, 28 people in the capital have been arrested and accused of spying for Israel, while on Monday, one man arrested on that charge two years ago was hanged in what appeared to be a message to any would-be collaborator. The Iranian regime has also arrested scores of people across the country for allegedly sharing articles online 'in support of the Zionist regime' – accusing them of disrupting the 'psychological security of society' – including 60 people in Isfahan, where Israel claims to have targeted a nuclear site. The wave of arrests comes as Tehran reels from the revelation that Mossad operatives smuggled weapons into Iran before Israel's unprecedented attack and used them to target the country from within. So heightened have Iranian suspicions become since then that its Intelligence Ministry has been asking the public to report suspicious activity and issuing guidance on how to spot collaborators. One statement from the ministry urges people to be wary of strangers wearing masks or goggles, driving pickup trucks and carrying large bags or filming around military, industrial, or residential a poster published by the state-affiliated Nour News – which is close to Iran's security apparatus – singled out for suspicion people who wear 'masks, hats, and sunglasses, even at night' and those who receive 'frequent package deliveries by courier.'The poster asks people to report 'unusual sounds from inside the house, such as screaming, the sound of metal equipment, continuous banging' and 'houses with curtains drawn even during the day.'Another poster, attributed to the police and published on state media, advised landlords who had recently rented their homes to notify the police journalists in Iran have told CNN they are prohibited from taking pictures on the fears of Israeli penetration only amplify the anxieties felt by the increasingly isolated leadership of the Islamic Republic, which has been rocked in recent years by anti-regime protests sparked by the death of a young woman in the custody of the country's so-called morality same force used to crack down on those protests, the Basij (a paramilitary wing of Iran's Revolutionary Guard) has been deployed in night patrols to increase 'surveillance' in the wake of the Israeli infiltration, according to Iran's state-controlled a video statement Monday, Iran's chief of police Ahmad-Reza Radan urged 'traitors' to come forward, suggesting those who realized they had been 'deceived by the enemy' might receive more lenient treatment and be 'honored' by Iran – while those who were caught would be 'taught a lesson that the Zionist enemy is being given now.'The head of Iran's judiciary Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i called for 'swift' punishment of those accused of collaborating with Israel.'Let's say we have apprehended someone who is collaborating with (Israel), this matter under these war-like conditions ... must be prosecuted swiftly and punished swiftly,' he Iranian regime's rising paranoia comes as more details emerge of the Mossad operation that smuggled weapons into Iran ahead of the first strikes on to Israeli officials, operatives established a base for launching explosive drones inside Iran, then used those drones to target missile launchers near weapons were also smuggled in, they say, and used to target surface-to-air missile systems, clearing the way for Israel's Air Force to carry out more than 100 strikes with upward of 200 aircraft in the early hours of Friday local gathered by the Mossad in Iran also reportedly gave Israel's Air Force the ability to target senior Iranian commanders and then, according to Iranian media outlets, the government has seized equipment allegedly used during the Israeli operation – including 200 kilograms of explosives, several suicide drones, launchers and equipment used to manufacture the drones – in the city of Rey in Tehran province.A video published by the state-affiliated Fars News Agency showed a building with drone parts and other equipment. — CNN


Saudi Gazette
3 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Trump hints at major Israeli offensive, urges all of Tehran to evacuate 'immediately'
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump has warned residents of the Iranian capital, Tehran, to immediately evacuate, hinting at a possible major Israeli bombardment as the conflict between the two countries intensifies. Trump again reiterated that this conflict would not have broken out had Iran signed a nuclear deal, stating that their inability to do so has led to the loss of human life. 'Iran should have signed the 'deal' I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life,' said Trump in a post on his own social media platform, Truth Social. 'Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!,' added Trump. Israel on Monday warned some 300,000 people in Tehran to evacuate ahead of airstrikes. Israeli forces then struck an Iranian state-run broadcaster during a live broadcast. It's the fifth day of conflict between Israel and Iran. Both countries have intensified their strikes on each other in recent days, with exchanges of missiles resulting in dozens of casualties between the two conflict started when Israel moved to strike multiple targets in Iran, including nuclear and military sites in a surprise attack in the early hours of Friday. The first wave of attacks also eliminated top Iranian officials, including the armed forces' chief of staff, Mohammed Bagheri, and head of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Corp, Hossein says the decision to attack Iran was 'pre-emptive self-defense', as it expressed concerns over Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program. Israel has repeatedly warned of the threat an Iran equipped with a nuclear weapon would pose on its very Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Monday that the strikes have set Iran's nuclear program back 'years" and said he is in touch daily with the early hours of Tuesday, Israeli air defense systems sounded for a short period of time as more Iranian strikes were Israeli army issued an air raid warning just after midnight local time for residents of Tel Aviv and the southern city of Beersheva. The alert was quickly dropped however, with the army confirming that residents are free to leave shelters and protective spaces Foreign Minister and chief nuclear deal negotiator Abbas Araghchi says Israel's attacks on his country deal a huge blow to diplomacy. The comments were made during a call with his French, British and German signed a nuclear deal in 2015 with these three countries, along with the EU, US, China and Russia. Washington later unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018 under Trump's first term in the US says it's deploying 'additional capabilities' to bolster its defenses in the Middle East. The announcement was made by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in a post on social media platform X.'Over the weekend, I directed the deployment of additional capabilities to the United States Central Command Area of Responsibility,' said Hegseth.'Protecting US forces is our top priority and these deployments are intended to enhance our defensive posture in the region,' he added. — Euronews