Over 2.5m Iranians in Iraq for Arbaeen march
Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said more than 2.5 million Iranians have entered Iraq to participate in the Arbaeen march.
The Iranian interior minister made the remarks in a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Abdul Amir al-Shammari in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad.
Omar Adnan al-Waeli, head of the Iraqi Border Crossings Authority, said that the number of pilgrims is expected to be higher compared to previous years.
Earlier on Friday, Ahmad Vahidi had visited Khosravi and Manzaria border crossings, during which he expressed appreciation to Iraqi officials for facilitating the movement of Iranian pilgrims.
It is expected that this year more than four million Iranian pilgrims will travel to Karbala to attend the Arbaeen march.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian said the millions-strong Arbaeen March, an annual event that marks the 40th day after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (PBHU), symbolizes the fight against oppression and the struggle for freedom.
“As one of the largest gatherings of people in the world, the Arbaeen March represents a colossal, noble and deep-seated motion, which annually brings together millions of Muslims from all over the world with different nationalities, races and languages to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (PBHU),” Amir-Abdollahian wrote in a message published in Iraq’s Arabic-language Al-Zora and Al-Sabaah newspapers.
The top Iranian diplomat noted that faith in religion, trust in God, ethics, justice, defense of the oppressed, and unity of Muslim countries, confronting global arrogance, and formation of a united Muslim Ummah are among the fundamentals of the Arbaeen march.
Millions of Muslims across the world are observing the annual mourning rituals of Arbaeen, which mark the 40th day after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (PBUH), the third Shia Imam.
He underscored that Iraqi people have for many years offered services to Arbaeen pilgrims of all nationalities, especially Iranians, irrespective of their ethnicity.
Arbaeen brings together millions of people from across the world, who undertake an 80-kilometer (50-mile) walk between the holy Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala.