Umrah pilgrimage abolition, first sign of ineffectiveness of Iran-Saudi agreement

According to The Iran Project, after seven years of diplomatic deadlock, on March 10, 2023, Iran and Saudi Arabia had reached an agreement in the Chinese capital of Beijing to restore their diplomatic relations and re-open embassies and missions.

After that, Ebrahim Raisi paid a visit to Saudi Arabia and eventually, Tehran and Riyadh resumed their diplomatic relations after seven years of hiatus.

The restoration of tise between the two rival countries had a remarkable advantage for Iran, and that was the neutralization of sanctions by the expansion of regional relations. After this agreement, the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran announced that one of Iran's intentions to develop relations with regional governments is to neutralize sanctions against Tehran through regional relations.

The Iranian ruler believed that the Saudi government's consent for the restoration of ties was because this country realized that the conflict between the superpowers of the region has more disadvantages and obstacles than its achievements and the Arab monarch just followed some other countries in opposing Tehran and it has been forced to oppose Iran simply because of convergence with them.

In other words, the Iranian government believes that considering the severe sanctions against Tehran and the policies of foreign countries in reducing the power of the Islamic Republic in the region, the resumption of relations with some countries in the region, Saudi Arabia in particular, will affect Iran's regional and global relations

On the other hand, regional unity will affect the power of regional countries in the world arena.

Iran-Saudi resumption of ties was a security pact

Many experts described the agreements between the two countries as a promissory note that China signed behind. According to them, the remarkable point of this agreement was that it was a win-win game for Saudi Arabia in this trilateral game while it was a 50% win for China and nothing for Iran.

In this regard, Mohammad Ali Sobhani, the former ambassador of Iran to Qatar, Lebanon, and Jordan, had said, "long as the sanctions on Iran are not lifted and there is no agreement on JCPOA and FATF, no matter how many promises they make to us, it is useless."

Cancellation of Umrah is result of agreement without lifting sanctions

As it was said, experts have considered the agreements between Iran and Saudi Arabia as a security agreement that will not have any gain for Iran without the easing of sanctions. The cancellation of the Umrah pilgrimage this year can be one of the first signs of confirmation of these statements.

After seven years, the first group of Iranian pilgrims was supposed to go to the Umrah pilgrimage, or lesser Hajj, in early January. However due to what the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance called "technical obstacles", it did not happen, and Saudi Arabia did not give the necessary final permission for the Iranian airline "Homa" to fly to Jeddah Airport.

At that time, the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran promised to resolve the problem in a few days, but now after a month and a half, on February 16, Iran's Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization announced that Umrah will not be performed this year and the pilgrims' money will be returned to them.

It seems that despite the efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran to bypass the sanctions and make them ineffective, Tehran still feels the sting of sanctions.

Translator : Fatemeh Khoshroo