Iran and Saudi Arabia are on a collision course this year amid the hajj season looming. Hajj is an important element of Muslim faith. This situation has been fueled by the execution of Shia cleric Nimr-al-nimr in recent past by the Saudi kingdom on pretext of treason in mass protests in 2011-2012 in the backdrop of Arab spring. The deadlock has been exacerbated by the absence of Saudi mission in Tehran for processing visa to Iranian citizens. Iran wants visas to be issued by Swiss embassy which looks after interests of Iran in Riyadh. Iran and Saudi have adopted inflexible positions which has made the middle east a battlefield of two different ideologies longing for supremacy. Syria and Yemen are prime examples of such hostile attitude and adversarial approaches by the two countries. This deadlock is a reflection of deep mistrust and animosity between two regional powers. Furthermore Pakistan has also failed to play a mediator role in such crisis as Swiss has superseded us in dealing with this issue as 3rd party. The talks are continued although Iranian minister has almost lost hope of the settlement this year. This will be a great shame if Muslims are deprived of performing hajj, which is one of the five pillars of Islam, due to political reasons,
Source: http://www.dawn.com/news/1258140
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