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Iran suspended pilgrimage visits to Saudi Arabia on Monday in the latest manifestation of escalating tensions between the two regional rivals.

The move comes after allegations that security personnel at the airport in Jeddah sexually molested a pair of Iranian teenage boys last month as the two pilgrims were headed home.

Ali Jannati, Irans minister for culture and Islamic guidance, told local media that flights for the minor hajj travel period had been suspended until further notice. The minor or off-season hajj encompasses the months not included in the official period of pilgrimage to Mecca, the Saudi home of Islams most revered shrines.

In his comments, the Iranian minister said Saudi officials had vowed to punish those responsible for the crime. Details of the alleged sexual attack have not been released. Saudi authorities have not commented publicly on the case.

But the reported assaults have caused outrage here. On Saturday, angry protesters gathered outside the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and demanded that the attackers be brought to justice.

Tensions are already running high between predominantly Shiite Iran and mostly Sunni Saudi Arabia, hubs of the two major branches of Islam. The two nations are backing opposing sides in sectarian-fueled proxy wars in Syria and Yemen, and are also at odds about events in Iraq, Bahrain, Lebanon and elsewhere.

The pilgrimage has occasionally emerged as a flash point of regional tensions. In 1987, clashes between Iranian Shiite pilgrims and Saudi security forces in Mecca left hundreds dead. Each side blamed the other for the bloody incident.

Approximately 500,000 Iranians visit Saudi Arabia annually during the minor hajj period, according to official estimates. An additional 100,000 pilgrims from Iran make the trip during the weeks of official pilgrimage, officials say.

Hajj-related travel is big business in much of the Muslim world. Special flights transport the pilgrims from Iran and elsewhere to Saudi Arabia.

Inside Iran, an extensive network of travel agencies, tour organizers and middlemen help make arrangements and secure visas for pilgrims. One Iranian travel agent who declined to be named for privacy reasons said pilgrims were being advised to fly to Kuwait or other nations to seek Saudi visas.

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Secretary of State John Kerry defended the framework deal to curb Iran's nuclear program Sunday, saying America's allies have backed up U.S. accounts of what the deal holds despite an ongoing war of words with Iran's supreme leader.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last week that there won't be a nuclear deal unless all sanctions are lifted, and there will be no inspection of military sites as part of the deal. That prompted Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, to question Kerry's account of the deal he has been describing to the American public.

"John Kerry must have known what was in it, and yet chose to interpret it in another way. It's probably in black and white that the ayatollah is probably right. John Kerry is delusional," McCain said on a radio talk show.

President Obama said Saturday that McCain's comments are "an indication of the degree to which partisanship has crossed all boundaries."

Asked about McCain's comments on CBS' "Face the Nation," Sunday, Kerry pointed to other U.S. negotiating partners who can back up his account of the deal.

"I'll let the facts speak for themselves. Yesterday the Russians -- who are not our usual allies -- released a statement saying that what we have put out in terms of our information is both reliable and accurate," Kerry said. "I would remind you that people have the same dueling narratives, discrepancies, spin - whatever you want to call it - with respect to the interim agreement. But in the end, an interim agreement came out exactly as we had described and what's important is Iran has not only signed it but has lived up to it in every respect."

Kerry said he will be briefing Congress in depth about the deal Monday and Tuesday. He also reiterated that the framework deal does not represent a final agreement, which will be completed after another two and a half months of negotiations.

"This an outline, parameters, and most people are very surprised by the depth and breadth and detail of these parameters and went well beyond what they expected," Kerry said. "I think people need to hold their fire, let us negotiate without interference and be able to complete the job over the course of the next two and a half months."

"We've earned the right to be able to try and complete this without interference and certainly without partisan politics," he added.

He also addressed critics of the deal, saying that the scientific community, as well as Russia, China, Germany, France, Great Britain and experts in all of those countries, believe the deal shuts down Iran's pathway to a bomb.

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