Tehran: Saudi Arabia s King Abdullah has invited Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the haj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage, Iran s state-run news agency, IRNA, reported today. Iran's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Hosseini, said Ahmadinejad was invited as a "special guest" to the US ally, IRNA quoted him as saying. The invitation was the first time a Saudi king has officially asked an Iranian president to participate in the pilgrimage, the agency said.
There was no immediate confirmation by Saudi officials of the invitation. The haj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia is a once-in-a-lifetime duty for Muslims, millions of people make the trip annually. The haj will take place next week, though many people have already started arriving in Mecca. During a press conference yesterday, Ahmadinejad said if he would go to the haj if an invitation was extended. "It is only respectful to respond positively to an invitation from a brother," he said. Saudi Arabia, a majority Sunni Muslim country, and other Gulf Arab countries - who are all US allies - have been worried over the increasing regional influence, rival of Shiite-dominated Iran. But the invitation appeared to reflect a readiness from Saudi Arabia to reach out to its neighbour. It comes about a week after the US intelligence report said Iran had ended a nuclear weapons programme four years ago. Ahmadinejad visited Saudi Arabia twice this year, first in March and again last month to attend a rare head-of-state summit for the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
