SHAFAQNA- Arbaeen pilgrims are heading to Karbala with no problem and dispatching Arbaeen pilgrims from various provinces across Iran and border crossing towards Karbala and other holy cities in Iraq are continuing as usual.
The unrest in Iraq comes as millions of pilgrims are preparing to travel to the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala to attend Arbaeen marking the fortieth day after the martyrdom of their third Imam, Hussein ibn Ali. But, Iranian officials emphasize that dispatching Arbaeen pilgrims from various provinces across Iran and border crossing towards Karbala and other holy cities in Iraq are continuing as usual.
The head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization Ali Reza Rashidian said that the unrest over the past few days in Iraq have not affected the trend of dispatching Arbaeen pilgrims to the neighboring country and calm is prevailing at the shared borders.
The Iranian official added that the Arbaeen pilgrims are crossings the borders at Shalamcheh, Chazabah and Mehran border crossings into Iraq while the security of the Arbaeen pilgrims route is fully provided by the host country and there are no security problems, mehrnews reported.
He added that more than two million Iranian pilgrims have enrolled as of Saturday for the Arbaeen trek this year on a website designed for this Arbaeen dubbed ‘Samah’.
Moreover, General Gholam Hossein Gheib Parvar, the Deputy Commander in Chief of IRGC at Imam Ali Central Security Headquarter said that all Iran’s borders are secure for the transit of Arbaeen pilgrims to Karbala in Iraq.
Every year millions of Iranian Shia Muslims and Muslims from other countries travel to the holy cities of Iraq to pay pilgrimage to holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS). This year Arbaeen falls on October 30.