Iran has officially announced it won’t be sending pilgrims to the hajj this year and is blaming Saudi Arabia

Iran has officially announced it won't be sending pilgrims to the hajj this year and is blaming Saudi Arabia, saying the kingdom has failed to provide adequate security for the pilgrims.

Saeed Ohadi, head of Iran's Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, said Thursday that "Saudi Arabia knows it will pay a heavy price" for its behavior.

In the worst ever tragedy during Hajj, more than 460 Iranians were among the thousands of pilgrims who died on September 24, 2015 in a crush in Mina, near Mecca.

In the wake of the 2015 disaster, Iran had demanded additional security guarantees but a second round of talks in Saudi Arabia this week failed to resolve the issue.

Ohadi says Riyadh sought to restrict the number of makeshift clinics Iran had wanted to set up for its pilgrims.