Regional
Egypt cracks down on tourism companies after over 530 deaths during hajj
The agencies are being blamed for sending pilgrims to Saudi on personal visit visas, rather than hajj visas that allow access to Mecca where hajj rituals take place.
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Egypt withdrew the operating licenses of 16 tourism companies and referred them to the public prosecutor, accusing them of being responsible for the deaths of Egyptian pilgrims in Mecca, a crisis unit tasked with addressing the situation said on Saturday.
Medical and security sources say at least 530 Egyptians died during this year’s hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, while the statement from the unit, formed on Thursday and headed by prime minister Mostafa Madbouly, said 31 deaths were confirmed as a result of chronic illness, Reuters reported.
The tourism companies which facilitated the travel of those who died did not provide them with services of any kind, including medical, the statement said without naming the companies involved.
The agencies are being blamed for sending pilgrims to Saudi on personal visit visas, rather than hajj visas that allow access to Mecca where hajj rituals take place.
Medical services offered by Saudi authorities to alleviate the hardships of the pilgrimage are not offered to those traveling with a personal visa.
The pilgrims who died had to walk through the desert into Mecca to avoid arrest or deportation, the statement added.
Egyptian authorities also say those travel agencies did not provide the pilgrims with “appropriate accommodation,” adding that this caused pilgrims’ “exhaustion due to the high temperatures.”
Egyptian authorities also documented 31 deaths among registered Egyptian pilgrims, citing “chronic diseases” as the cause of deaths, Reuters reported.
Most of those who died were unregistered, the statement said.
In recent days hundreds of people from different countries have died in punishing conditions for the hajj pilgrimage in the Saudi city, where temperatures have at times exceeded 51 degrees Celsius.
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Regional
Israel FM to Iran: regime threatening destruction deserves destruction
He also said Israel will act with full force against Iran-backed Hezbollah if it does not stop firing at Israel from Lebanon and move away from the border, Reuters reported.
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Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that Iran’s message of an “obliterating war” made it worthy of destruction.
“A regime that threatens destruction deserves to be destroyed,” Katz said in a post on X.
He also said Israel will act with full force against Iran-backed Hezbollah if it does not stop firing at Israel from Lebanon and move away from the border, Reuters reported.
Iran’s UN mission said on Friday that if Israel embarks on a “full-scale military aggression” in Lebanon, “an obliterating war will ensue.”
The Iranian mission also said in the post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that in such an event “all options, incl. the full involvement of all resistance fronts, are on the table.”
Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israel since October, in parallel with the Gaza war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said this week they prefer a diplomatic path to resolving the situation.
Though Katz is a member of Israel’s security cabinet, war policy has largely been led by Netanyahu and a small circle of ministers that includes Gallant, who visited Washington this week for talks on Gaza and Lebanon.
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Regional
Iran’s hardline diplomat, sole moderate to square off in presidential run-off
With more than 24 million votes counted moderate lawmaker Massoud Pezeshkian led with over 10 million votes ahead of hardline diplomat Saeed Jalili with over 9.4 million votes, according to provisional results released by the ministry.
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Iran will hold a run-off presidential election on July 5 after neither of the top candidates secured more than 50% of votes in Friday’s polls, the interior ministry said on Saturday.
The vote to replace Ebrahim Raisi after his death in a helicopter crash came down to a tight race between the sole moderate in a field of four candidates and the supreme leader’s hardline protege.
With more than 24 million votes counted moderate lawmaker Massoud Pezeshkian led with over 10 million votes ahead of hardline diplomat Saeed Jalili with over 9.4 million votes, according to provisional results released by the ministry, Reuters reported.
Power in Iran ultimately lies with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, so the result will not herald any major policy shift on Iran’s nuclear programme or its support for militia groups across the Middle East.
But the president runs the government day-to-day and can influence the tone of Iran’s policy.
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Regional
Iran’s presidential election officially kicks off
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Iranians started voting on Friday for a new president following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, choosing from a tightly controlled group of four candidates loyal to the supreme leader at a time of growing public frustration.
State television showed queues inside polling stations in several cities. More than 61 million Iranians are eligible to vote. Polls were due to close at 6 p.m. (1430 GMT), but are usually extended as late as midnight, Reuters reported.
The election coincides with escalating regional tension due to war between Israel and Iranian allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as increased Western pressure on Iran over its fast-advancing nuclear program.
While the election is unlikely to bring a major shift in the Islamic Republic’s policies, its outcome could influence the succession to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s 85-year-old supreme leader, in power since 1989.
Khamenei called for a high turnout to offset a legitimacy crisis fuelled by public discontent over economic hardship and curbs on political and social freedom.
“The durability, strength, dignity and reputation of the Islamic Republic depend on the presence of people,” Khamenei told state television after casting his vote. “High turnout is a definite necessity.”
Voter turnout has plunged over the past four years, as a mostly youthful population chafes at political and social curbs.
Manual counting of ballots means it is expected to be two days before the final result is announced, though initial figures may come out around midday on Saturday.
If no candidate wins at least 50% plus one vote from all ballots cast, including blank votes, a run-off round between the top two candidates is held on the first Friday after the election result is declared.
Three candidates are hardliners and one is a low-profile comparative moderate, backed by the reformist faction that has largely been sidelined in Iran in recent years.
Critics of Iran’s clerical rule say the low and declining turnout of recent elections shows the system’s legitimacy has eroded. Just 48% of voters participated in the 2021 election that brought Raisi to power, and turnout hit a record low of 41% in a parliamentary election three months ago.
The next president is not expected to usher in any major policy shift on Iran’s nuclear programme or support for militia groups across the Middle East, since Khamenei calls all the shots on top state matters.
However, the president runs the government day-to-day and can influence the tone of Iran’s foreign and domestic policy.
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