In the latest indication of improving relations, the first batch of Iranian pilgrims has departed for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to perform Umrah after a nine-year hiatus.
On Monday morning, April 22, the official seeing-off ceremony for pilgrims took place at Imam Khomeini International Airport, in the presence of Saudi Ambassador to Iran Abdullah bin Saud al-Anzi.
In the first batch, 85 pilgrims and 13 volunteer medical professionals from the Iranian Red Crescent departed to Saudi Arabia.
Mohammad Hossein Ajilian, head of the Haj Affairs Unit at the Iranian Airports Company, said in a statement that 5,720 pilgrims will travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah this year.
He added that the last return flight of the pilgrims will be on May 23, and all flights are operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Airlines, IRNA News Agency reported.
The move comes after Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed diplomatic ties in March 2023 through a China-mediated agreement
In January 2016, Diplomatic relations between the two sides were severed, following the storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad by protesters.
Iran stopped sending Umrah pilgrims in 2015, one year before severing diplomatic relations. They were able to perform the Haj pilgrimage.
Since 2015, around six million Iranians have been eagerly awaiting the resumption of Umrah due to disagreements between Tehran and Riyadh.
In December 2023, Saudi Arabia lifted restrictions on Iranians performing Umrah, but flights have been delayed due to technical issues, according to Iranian media.