Manama: A much-anticipated agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran regarding the pilgrimage arrangements for Iranian pilgrims was not signed on Thursday as planned after the Iranian delegation failed to show up.

The accord on arrangements related to consular services, travels and visas was reached following lengthy talks on Wednesday and the two sides said they would sign it formally on Thursday in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.

However, as officials from the Saudi pilgrimage ministry waiting for the Iranian delegation to show up in the morning, they were informed that the Iranians would be late after deciding to perform Umrah in Makkah, 70 kilometres away, London-based Al Sharq Al Awsat reported on Friday

The drive from Jeddah to Makkah usually takes 45 minutes and the Umrah rituals, all performed inside the Grand Mosque, take between two and three hours depending on how crowded the mosque is.

Saudi Arabia and Iran have been locked in a dispute over the issue of Iranians performing Haj, the fifth ritual of Islam amid Iranian demands for special arrangements and a Saudi insistence on applying a no-derogation rule.

Iran reacted by claiming that the Saudi authorities were preventing its nationals from performing Haj.

Claims refuted

However, Saudi Arabia refuted the claims.

“Saudi Arabia does not consider these issues - such as the easing of procedures for those wanting to make the pilgrimage and worship in the Holy Land and providing for their comfort and security - as political,” the Saudi embassy in Turkey said in a statement.

The embassy added that Saudi Arabia regarded them as “religious obligations emanating from the Muslim faith, because the sacred places fall within its borders.”

Saudi Arabia bores “no enmity” toward any particular country and would carry out its responsibility to provide for pilgrims’ security and comfort,” the embassy was quoted as saying by Turkish daily Sabah.

However, Saudi Arabia “would not allow anyone to harm its security and stability.”

Faced with the Saudi stance, Iran dispatched a delegation to the kingdom this week and held talks that focused on “arrangements, organisation and services” for pilgrims. A preliminary accord was reached.

Under the deal, the Swiss consulate in Saudi Arabia will be tasked with the air and land travels, visas, and consular services of the Iranian pilgrims.

The accord also stipulates that Iranian pilgrims will be given electronic visas that they will print in Iran, while airlines will be able to check the visas electronically.

The Saudi authorities will coordinate with Switzerland which has offered to look after the interests of Saudi Arabia in Iran, after Riyadh severed its diplomatic relations with Tehran following the attacks on its diplomatic missions in the Iranian capital and in the northern city of Mashhad.

According to the deal, Saudi Arabia will ensure the security of the pilgrims, and it will confiscate any sharp items or metals the Iranian pilgrims might carry with them.

Saudi Haj Ministry Undersecretary Husain Sharif was quoted as saying that the kingdom and its leadership “welcome pilgrims from all around the world”.

Riyadh cut ties with Tehran in January after an angry mob burned its embassy in Tehran and its general consulate in the northern city of Mashhad.

Saudi Arabia and Iran are also at odds over a raft of regional issues, notably the conflicts in Syria and Yemen in which they support opposing sides.