Racial Relations Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Arabian government reported Saturday that 402 people were killed during clashes touched off by Iranian pilgrims in Mecca, where more than 2 million Muslims were making the solemn annual trek to the holiest shrines of Islam. An official statement read on television said that of the total killed in Friday's fighting, 275 were Iranians, 85 were Saudi citizens and security men and 42 were pilgrims of other nationalities. More than 600 were wounded, the statement said.

Iran called Sunday for the overthrow of the government of Saudi Arabia in retaliation for the violence that left hundreds dead during the annual pilgrimage to Islam's holy shrines in Mecca. The call by the Speaker of Iran's Parliament, Hashemi Rafsanjani, represented a serious escalation of tensions in the Middle East, already high because of threats to Persian Gulf shipping.

Iran called Sunday for the overthrow of the government of Saudi Arabia in retaliation for the violence that left hundreds dead during the annual pilgrimage to Islam's holy shrines in Mecca. The call by the Speaker of Iran's Parliament, Hashemi Rafsanjani, represented a serious escalation of tensions in the Middle East, already high because of threats to Persian Gulf shipping.

The Saudi Arabian government reported Saturday that 402 people were killed during clashes touched off by Iranian pilgrims in Mecca, where more than 2 million Muslims were making the solemn annual trek to the holiest shrines of Islam. An official statement read on television said that of the total killed in Friday's fighting, 275 were Iranians, 85 were Saudi citizens and security men and 42 were pilgrims of other nationalities. More than 600 were wounded, the statement said.