With Iranians barred from the annual Haj pilgrimage, thousands protested in Tehran on Friday and officials criticised Saudi Arabia’s refusal to discuss last year’s deadly stampede. Around 64,000 Iranians allocated places for the hajj under a quota system will be absent when it starts tomorrow, after talks between the increasingly bitter rivals fell apart earlier this year. As a war of words grows between the two regional rivals, several thousand people took to the streets of the Iranian capital after the Friday weekly prayers. The Saudis have “blocked the path to Allah. It’s a crime and they must be tried,” said Javad Zolfaghari, a cleric who joined the protests. In an interview with AFP, the head of Iran’s Haj Organisation blamed the Saudis for refusing to discuss security measures despite the stampede that killed thousands during last year’s Haj.