Iran accuses Saudi Arabia of preventing Iranian pilgrims from voting in upcoming election

Iran has accused Saudi Arabia of forbidding Iranian pilgrims from voting in the upcoming presidential election, in the latest sign of straining ties between Tehran and Riyadh in recent months.

According to Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) yesterday, the spokesperson for Iran’s election authorities, Mohsen Eslami, announced that the Iranian government provided the necessary arrangements for its pilgrims within Saudi Arabia to vote on Friday, with the citizens having requested the ballots.

Following Tehran’s request to Riyadh to allow the necessary procedures for the Iranians to vote, however, according to the outlet, Saudi authorities reportedly rejected it and forbade the 47,000 pilgrims from lodging their vote.

The validity of the report has not yet been confirmed by the Kingdom’s authorities or other sources, nor have the reasons for the reported refusal to vote been clarified.

If true, however, it would be yet another recent controversy straining ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, a year after the two former rivals restored diplomatic relations and re-established cooperation in a number of fields including the Hajj pilgrimage.

Earlier this month, an Iranian official criticised Saudi authorities for allegedly cracking down on Iranian pilgrims by arresting, detaining and sometimes deporting dozens of Iranians throughout the Islamic holy sites.

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