Riyadh(ANN)-Saudi Minister of Media, Turki Al-Shabanah, urged Muslim pilgrims to focus on the Hajj rituals only and refrain from “raising any political or doctrinal slogans” during the pilgrimage.

In an official statement issued yesterday following a Saudi Cabinet meeting that was chaired by King Salman, Al-Shabanah warned that “such actions will not be accepted in any way, all necessary measures will be taken to prevent them, and regulations will be applied against anyone who perpetrates this,” the state-run Saudi News Agency reported.

The cabinet urged pilgrims to “keep away from everything that disrupts Hajj and its tranquillity.”

The Saudi statement came less than a week after Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei wrote on Twitter that Muslim worshippers should not be told to avoid politics during the annual pilgrimage.

“Among major mistakes is that they say do not politicise hajj,” Khamenei tweeted last Wednesday.

“Creating unity is a political matter. Supporting & defending the oppressed in the World of Islam, like the Palestinian & Yemeni nations, is a political matter, exactly based on Islamic teachings & an obligation,” he continued.