Umrah Pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia Officially Canceled

Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization announced on February 16 that the Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia has been canceled.

The organization’s deputy director, Gholamreza Rezaei, cited "uncertainty and delays in obtaining permission" as the reason for the cancellation.

All 30,000 Iranians already registered for the pilgrimage will be refunded later this month, he said.

Umrah, known as the "lesser pilgrimage," can be undertaken at any time of the year and is not generally deemed compulsory in Islam.

The Islamic Republic of Iran initially announced that the first Umrah pilgrims would travel in December following an agreement between Tehran and Riyadh to allow the pilgrimage to take place after an eight-year hiatus.

However, this flight and subsequent ones were canceled due to a "technical disagreement" regarding Iranian flight permits for entry into Saudi Arabia.

Under a China-mediated agreement in March, Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed diplomatic relations which were cut in 2016 over Riyadh's execution of a Shia cleric and the storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

Since then, Iranians have only been able to complete the Hajj pilgrimage, a religious duty for Muslims.