Iran Ready to Dispatch over 2mln Pilgrims to Iraq on Arbaeen: Official

Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization is fully prepared to dispatch more than two million pilgrims to Iraq’s holy cities during the upcoming Arbaeen ceremony in November, a senior official at the organization said.

Mohsen Nezafati said the organization started registration of pilgrims wanting to make pilgrimage to Iraqi holy cities earlier in the day.

“We are prepared to begin the dispatch of pilgrims attending Arbaeen ceremony on October 22,” he said, adding that Iraq has also announced its readiness to host the Iranian pilgrims.

He further predicted that more than two million Iranians would go on pilgrimage to Iraq for Arbaeen this year.

Arbaeen, which is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, comes 40 days after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of the third Shiite Imam, Imam Hussein (AS).

Each year, a huge crowd of Shiites flock to the Iraqi city of Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) is located, to perform mourning rites.

Last year, around 20 million pilgrims from all over the world, including over 1.6 million Iranians, gathered in Karbala to attend the mourning ceremonies marking Arbaeen.