The Iran war is reshaping who performs Hajj this year, and how they get there: Iran’s allocation was cut to 30,000 pilgrims, nearly two-thirds fewer than usual. Their travel plans had shifted to using overland convoys through Iraq, before the ceasefire restored air access and enabled Iranian pilgrims to fly into Medina from April 25 (Iraq still sent all of its pilgrims overland).
In 2016, no Iranian attended Hajj amid a rupture of diplomatic ties between the two countries and accusations from Tehran that Riyadh wasn’t doing enough to protect pilgrims. The fact that any Iranians are being allowed this year, despite the waves of drones and missiles fired at the country since late February, reaffirms Riyadh’s policy of not politicizing its guardianship of Islam’s holiest sites. Gulf leaders cited Hajj when urging US President Donald Trump to hold off on resuming strikes last week.