TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran’s death toll from the Saudi hajj disaster has nearly doubled to 464 pilgrims killed, state media reported Thursday, a development that is likely to further strain ties between the Mideast archrivals.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the rise in the Islamic Republic’s death toll, announced on the website of Iranian state television, would affect the overall toll from the Sept. 24 disaster near Islam’s holy city of Mecca.
Saudi Arabia’s Healthy Ministry reported Saturday that the crush and stampede killed at least 769 pilgrims and injured 934, but Pakistan, India, Indonesia and Iran all have suggested the true casualty figures may be higher.
Saudi state media and officials had no immediate comment on the Iranian announcement, though they say they are investigating what caused the crush and stampede in Mina.
The disaster has fed into the bitter regional rivalry between the Sunni Saudi Arabia and the Shiite Iran, which back opposite sides in the wars in Syria and Yemen.