Iran Asks Iraq to Open Land Borders for Arbaeen
“The most important demand of the Iranian nation is the issue of pilgrimage, especially the opening of land borders during Arbaeen and we ask this from the Iraqi government and parliament,” Ghalibaf said on Wednesday in a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed al-Halbousi here in Tehran.
The sides also pointed to the importance of bilateral relations in different fields.
Arbaeen, which is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, comes 40 days after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of the third Shia Imam, Imam Hussein (AS).
Each year, a huge crowd of Shias flocks to the Iraqi city of Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussain (AS) is located, to perform mourning rites.
Iraqi officials estimate that more than 16 million pilgrims took part in the Arbaeen procession in 2021.
Due to coronavirus restrictions, the number of Iranians participating in the annual rituals was under 100,000 last year.
An Iranian official had predicted that some four million Iranians may take part in this year’s Arbaeen march as the restrictions over the pandemic is likely to be lifted.
