# The Hajj ban as leverage

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "The Hajj ban as leverage," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-hajj-ban-as-leverage/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's answer to what a Saudi retaliation against Iran would look like: not a military strike but a ban on Iranians making the pilgrimage to Mecca. He notes it was done at the turn of the 1980s, that it produced a crisis, and that Iranian terrorist attacks against Saudis followed.*

- **The question:** What would a Saudi slap-back at Iran look like?
- **Kiriakou's answer:** Ban Iranians from the Hajj
- **Precedent:** Done for a few years around 1979, 1980 and 1981
- **What followed:** A crisis, and Iranian attacks on Saudis
- **Softer options:** Breaking relations, or recalling ambassadors

**The Hajj ban as leverage** is [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)'s answer to a question asked during the [2026 Iran war](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/2026-iran-war): with Saudi Arabia declaring that all trust with Iran was lost after strikes on Saudi facilities, what would a Saudi response actually look like?

His answer began with the conventional options — Riyadh *"could break relations again, or even just recall ambassadors,"* and he would not be surprised if it broke relations, the diplomatic relationship being only about three years old after decades without one.[1][2]

Then the real instrument: *"if you really want to hurt the Iranians, you forbid Iranians from making the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca."* He prefaced it with a warning against underrating it — *"this is going to sound silly, but it's actually quite important."*[2]

## The precedent

Kiriakou says it has been done: *"They did that for a couple of years, 1979, 1980, 1981. And it was a crisis, let me tell you."*[2][3] The crisis escalated — *"to the point where the Iranians started carrying out terrorist attacks against Saudis,"* and, in his account, supported a takeover by Saudi radicals in which people were killed.[3]

His forecast was that this, rather than a military reply, is where the Saudis would begin: *"My guess is that's what the Saudis are going to start with. Just ban all Iranians from the Hajj."*[3]

Why a military reply is unlikely is treated at [Saudi military composition](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/saudi-military-composition).

## See also

- [Saudi-Iran diplomatic rivalry](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/saudi-iran-diplomatic-rivalry)
- [Composition of the Saudi military](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/saudi-military-composition)
- [Saudi Arabia and radicalism](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/saudi-arabia-and-radicalism)
- [2026 Iran war](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/2026-iran-war)

## Sources

1. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2026-03-20), at 11:38. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=145C1-XphQs&t=698s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-03-20-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/
2. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2026-03-20), at 12:09. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=145C1-XphQs&t=729s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-03-20-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/
3. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2026-03-20), at 12:41. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=145C1-XphQs&t=761s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-03-20-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/

---

From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-hajj-ban-as-leverage/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt