In an interview with “Min-Tehran” (“From Tehran”) program broadcasted from Al-Alam TV, Hossein Zolfaqari announced that research results show that the Saudi pilgrims had been poisoned by emissions from the rice tablet.

Zolfaqari added that the hotel manager and personnel had used rice tablet against vermin and other insects in the fifth floor of the hotel, and they did not think that it could affect human.

Based on the researches, the toxic effects of the rice tablets had infiltrated to the fifth and fourth floor through air conditioning canals.

Thirty-Seven Saudis on a pilgrimage to the Shiite holy city of Mashhad were hospitalised past Sunday morning, suffering from nausea and dizziness. Four died in the hospital after inhaling toxic gas at the hotel in Mashhad.

According to Hossein Zolfaqari, 22 people of 37 tourists treated in hospital and finally discharged from hospital.