The governments of Iran and Saudi Arabia announced the end of trade partnership between the countries. On Thursday Tehran banned imports from Saudi Arabia and from other countries that supported the execution of Shiite Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr and called for boycotts of Iranian products.
The decision was made by Iran's President Rouhani. The Iranian government also imposed a ban on pilgrims traveling to Saudi Arabia for the umrah.
Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic relations with Iran after demonstrators protesting against the execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr attacked the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad.
The Iranian ban on the pilgrimage to Mecca can result in a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars for Riyadh.
In 2014 Saudi Arabia earned $18.6 billion from the hajj and umrah combined, an amount compared to 10% from the country’s oil and gas revenues.
About 100,000 Iranians come to Saudi Arabia for the hajj every year, while an additional 500,000 visit it for lesser pilgrimage (the umrah). Iranian pilgrims comprise 5% of all Muslims undertaking the hajj.
According to Saudi economists, an average hajj pilgrim coming from abroad spends around $5,000 during the visit. Thus, the ban for Iranian’s pilgrimage could cost up to $3 billion for Saudi Arabia.
