Iran parliament wants halt to Umrah

An Iranian parliamentary committee has expressed outrage at the sexual harassment of two teenaged pilgrims in Saudi Arabia and called for a halt to sending pilgrims from the country for the Umrah.

The Cultural Commission of the Majlis -- the Iranian parliament -- in a letter to President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday said that "in recent years we have been witnessing the impolite behaviour of Saudi policemen towards Iranian pilgrims", state-run news agency IRNA reported.

Iran lodged a complaint with the Saudi government to bring to justice the Saudi policemen involved in sexually assaulting the two teenaged boys.

The Iranian consulate in Jeddah said the Saudi government had forwarded the case against the policemen to the Court of Justice.

The incident comes at a time when relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia are extremely fragile in the wake of a Saudi Arabia-led collation having invaded Yemen and launched a military operation against Houthi forces -- a Shia rebel group having links with Iran.