Gholamreza Ghasemian, a senior Iranian cleric affiliated with the office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was arrested Monday in the Saudi city of Medina, according to Iranian media reports. The Iranian judiciary confirmed the report. Ghasemian had traveled to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj pilgrimage, one of the central religious duties in Islam.
A spokesperson for Iran's judiciary called the arrest "unjustified and illegal" and said the Foreign Ministry would follow up on the case. Saudi authorities have not issued a public response.
According to the opposition-affiliated outlet Iran International, a video released shortly before his arrest showed Ghasemian criticizing Saudi Arabia and accusing it of turning the holy cities of Mecca and Medina into commercialized entertainment destinations.
"There's no need to travel to Antalya anymore for casinos, hedonism and concerts," he reportedly said. "You can now come to Mecca and Medina instead." He also claimed that the conditions for pilgrims were extremely restrictive and alleged that Saudi authorities were preventing worshippers from engaging in in-depth Islamic study during the Hajj.
Ghasemian has been linked to the 2016 attack on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran. According to Iranian documentary filmmaker Javad Mogouyi, Ghasemian delivered a fiery sermon at a religious gathering shortly before some attendees stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
That attack, and another on the Saudi consulate in Mashhad, followed the execution of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia. The incidents led Riyadh to sever diplomatic ties with Tehran, accusing Iran of failing to protect foreign missions. The countries only restored relations in 2023 following Chinese mediation.
The arrest comes at a sensitive moment in the recently thawing relationship between Riyadh and Tehran. In April, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman made a rare visit to Tehran, and direct flights resumed between the two countries under a bilateral agreement aimed at facilitating Iranian pilgrimages to Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia.
