About 1.5 million Muslims from across the world have started to observe the Day of Arafat, an occasion for repentance and supplication considered as the pinnacle of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

"Saudis mismanagement of Hajj has a long record,"Supreme Leader’s in Hajj Affairs Hojjatoleslam said.

Saudi Arabia’s radical Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Sheikh will not be delivering this year’s Hajj sermon, Saudi media have announced.

At least 12 people have been killed and 27 more injured in and around the Iraqi capital in a series of bombing attacks, say medical and police sources.

The Algerian energy minister has lent weight to Iran’s bid to regain market share through stepped-up oil production despite objections from Saudi Arabia.

Iran has exported over 3.6 billion dollars worth of an array of petrochemicals during the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year, which started on March 20.

A special aide to Iran’s parliament speaker said the Arab League has disgraced itself by turning a blind eye to the Saudi crimes and supporting the Riyadh regime’s conduct.

A Bahraini Shi’a cleric, speaking before Friday prayers in Qom, urged the Muslim community to listen to Bahraini people’s call for help.

Representative of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) said remaining members of the anti-Iran Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO or MEK) were humiliated by the Iraqi nation and expelled from the Arab country for resettlement in Albania.

Hujjat al-Islam al-Karbala’i, the representative of Ayatollah al-Sistani, urged believers to pray for the victory of the Iraqi warriors and for the destruction of Daesh terrorists on the Day of Arafah.

“The House of Saud and its court muftis have emptied the Hajj of its spirituality and its lofty political and social message. May the curse of God be upon these bloodthirsty tyrants,” Ayatollah Arafi said.

“There’s no doubt that such ominous tragedy was a disgrace for Al Saud who consider themselves guardians of Hajj pilgrims lives. Such stain on Al Saud’s history can never be removed," stressed Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi.