DUBAI: Iran has suspended flights to Saudi Arabia for the year-round Umrah pilgrimage over allegations that Saudi security officers sexually assaulted two Iranian boys, Culture Minister Ali Jannati said on Monday.

The move is likely to deepen tensions between the two regional powers, who are at odds over the war in Yemen.

The teenage boys alleged last week that the officers abused them while conducting a security search at Jeddah airport.

"Until these guilty people are put on trial and punished, the Umrah will be stopped and Iranian flights will be suspended," the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) cited Jannati as saying.

The boys were returning to Tehran from the Umrah, a pilgrimage to Makkah that can be undertaken at any time of the year other than during the Hajj.

Several hundred protesters marched on the Saudi embassy in Tehran on Saturday, despite a ban on public demonstrations.

Jannati said the Saudi authorities had arrested the perpetrators and promised to punish them, ISNA reported.

Opinion

Editorial

Gulf flare-up
Updated 09 Jul, 2026

Gulf flare-up

IS the fragile US-Iran ceasefire — and the memorandum of understanding that underpins it — collapsing? Unless...
Costly food
09 Jul, 2026

Costly food

THE recent decline in diesel and LPG prices should have brought some relief to consumers struggling with high food...
Unliveable city
09 Jul, 2026

Unliveable city

IT comes as no surprise. Karachi — Pakistan’s largest city, its financial engine and home to over 20m people —...
Hamas’s move
Updated 08 Jul, 2026

Hamas’s move

THE decision taken by Hamas to relinquish governance of Gaza appears to be designed to put the onus on the US and...
Terrorism threat
Updated 08 Jul, 2026

Terrorism threat

THE surge in terrorist violence in Balochistan highlights the renewed threat confronting Pakistan. The martyrdom of...
Football meddling
08 Jul, 2026

Football meddling

AFTER ending co-hosts America’s World Cup run in the last-16 stage, Belgium felt justice had been served. It was...