Iran demands apology for hajj deaths

Riyadh hits back at criticism from Teheran, saying it 'shouldn't play politics with a tragedy'

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei demanded on Sunday that Saudi Arabia apologize for a stampede that killed nearly 770 pilgrims at the hajj, at least 144 of them Iranians.

"Instead of passing the buck and playing a blame game, the Saudis should accept their responsibility and apologize to the world's Muslims and the bereaved families," Khamenei said in comments reported by the official IRNA news agency.