TEHRAN, 25 May. - (ANA) - The Iran war is reshaping who performs Hajj this year, and how they get there: Iran’s allocation was cut to 30,000 pilgrims, nearly two-thirds fewer than usual. Their travel plans had shifted to using overland convoys through Iraq, before the ceasefire restored air access and enabled Iranian pilgrims to fly into Medina from April 25 (Iraq still sent all of its pilgrims overland).

 

In 2016, no Iranian attended Hajj amid a rupture of diplomatic ties between the two countries and accusations from Tehran that Riyadh wasn’t doing enough to protect pilgrims. 

 

The fact that any Iranians are being allowed this year, despite the waves of drones and missiles fired at the country since late February, reaffirms Riyadh’s policy of not politicizing its guardianship of Islam’s holiest sites. 

 

Gulf leaders cited Hajj when urging US President Donald Trump to hold off on resuming strikes last week.   

 

Today, millions of pilgrims begin arriving in Mina, a small valley five kilometers east of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, where they will spend several nights in what becomes, briefly, the largest temporary city on earth. The tents they sleep in bear little resemblance to what earlier generations encountered: Today’s structures sit on permanent steel frames, built from fire-resistant materials engineered to reflect heat, with air conditioning running throughout. The facilities remain in place year-round, maintained and upgraded between each season.

 

For the Tawaf, the ritual circumambulation of the Kaaba that pilgrims will perform throughout this week, Saudi Arabia undertook a vast rebuilding of the Mataf, the marble floor surrounding the Kaaba, expanding it across four floors and more than doubling the number of pilgrims who can be accommodated. The marble floor was engineered to stay cool regardless of the heat outside, which last year reached 51 degrees Celsius (124 degrees Fahrenheit).  - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/25 May 2026 - - -