'464 Iran pilgrims' died in Saudi Arabia Hajj disaster

Iran’s death toll from the Saudi hajj disaster has nearly doubled to 464 pilgrims killed, state media reported today, a development that is likely to further strain ties between the Middle East arch-rivals.

It was not immediately clear how the rise in the Islamic Republic’s death toll, announced on the website of Iranian state television, would affect the overall toll from the September 24 disaster near Islam’s holy city of Mecca.