More than a million Muslims are gathering in Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage, with the Middle East war casting a shadow over the annual rites despite a fragile ceasefire.

This year’s pilgrimage draws worshippers from across the Islamic world, including Iran, whose attacks on Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbors have strained regional relations since late February.

How is the Middle East war affecting the Hajj pilgrimage?

The war has raised tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, two countries with a fraught history over the Hajj. Despite the conflict, Iranian pilgrims began arriving in the kingdom in late April, with tens of thousands estimated to attend.

Saudi officials are keen to keep the conflict far from the minds of visitors who have travelled long distances for one of the world’s biggest annual pilgrimages.

What rules are Saudi authorities enforcing at this year’s Hajj?

A Saudi interior ministry warning, posted by a state broadcaster this week, stated that chanting and raising political or sectarian flags were strictly prohibited during the Hajj.

The ban reflects longstanding tensions with Iran, whose pilgrims have in past years been accused of chanting political slogans, an act considered taboo by Mecca’s religious establishment. As of this week, more than 1.2 million pilgrims had arrived in Saudi Arabia for the multi-day pilgrimage starting Monday.

What is the history of Saudi-Iran tensions at Hajj?

The Hajj has been a flashpoint between Riyadh and Tehran for decades. The last major dispute erupted in 2015, when 464 Iranians were among roughly 2,300 pilgrims killed in a stampede, one of the pilgrimage’s deadliest tragedies, prompting a bitter exchange of accusations between the two governments.

Relations were severed the following year after protesters attacked Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad, following Riyadh’s execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. No Iranian pilgrims attended that year, as the two sides could not agree on a protocol.

The two countries only re-established relations in a surprise 2023 deal brokered by China, which saw tensions ease and embassies reopen.

That detente unraveled after US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February triggered wide-ranging Iranian retaliation against Gulf neighbors, targeting energy installations, airports and ports. “Saudi Arabia and Iran have kept their political engagement open” despite the war, said Umer Karim, an expert on Saudi foreign policy.

How dangerous is the heat at Hajj this year?

The pilgrimage will again be held under punishing conditions, with temperatures forecast to top 40 degrees Celsius for much of the week.

After more than 1,300 people died in 2024 when temperatures soared above 50 degrees Celsius, Saudi authorities introduced heat-mitigation measures including more shaded areas and additional health workers. More than 50,000 healthcare staff and 3,000 ambulances are on standby, the Saudi health ministry confirmed.

How are pilgrims responding to the war and the risks?

For many pilgrims, neither geopolitical tensions nor extreme heat have diminished the significance of the journey. Fatima, a 36-year-old German housewife travelling with her family, said there was “no second thought” about attending.

“We know we are at the safest place in the world,” she told AFP. Ahmed Abo Seta, 47, was equally resolute: “Hajj has been the dream of a lifetime for me. And it is finally coming true.”

The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be performed at least once by every Muslim with the means to do so.