While the official tally given by Saudi authorities was 769, The Associated Press has given a figure that's 684 higher, implying that as many as 1,453 people may have lost their lives in the disaster. The stampede occurred on Sept. 24 in Mina.

The new death toll figures by the AP were compiled with corroboration from officials of 19 countries. Up to 189 countries had their citizens attend the pilgrimage.

Iran suffered the most fatalities, with 465 of its citizens dying in the stampede, according to The Guardian. Egypt was second with 148 fatalities, while Indonesia lost 120 of its citizens. The stampede kindled a diplomatic row between Iran and Saudi Arabia, with Tehran going as far as blaming the other's leadership of failing to protect worshippers.

The glaring disparity between Saudi's official toll and the new toll will focus new attention to what really happened on the fateful day, even as Riyadh pledged to have already commenced investigations into the cause.

Saudi Arabia has sought to distance itself from blame, having initially blamed some Africans for the stampede, The Atlantic reported.

"In Saudi Arabia, the country's health minister chalked up the latest incident to a failure to follow instructions, and the head of the Central Hajj Committee blamed 'some pilgrims from African nationalities," Ruth Graham said.

Iran has questioned the status of Saudi Arabia as the custodian of some of Islam's holiest sites, going as far as to warn that if an independent, credible investigation is not put in place, Tehran was ready "to use the language of force."