The World : Saudis Warn Iran on Mecca

Saudi Arabia warned Iran it will use force to prevent a repetition of last year’s bloody riots in Mecca, which killed at least 402 pilgrims, including 275 Iranians. “Any departure from the basic rituals of the pilgrimage will be met with force and firmness, and the Iranians know this,” the Saudi interior minister, Prince Nayif ibn Abdulaziz, told a Kuwaiti newspaper. Saudi Arabia cited Iran’s insistence on sending 150,000 Iranians to Mecca in July for the pilgrimage as a key reason for breaking relations between the two nations last week. Iran said its pilgrims will hold political marches in Mecca against the United States and Israel, even though the Saudis have banned demonstrations.