d]

[pol]
[top]
@h= Arba’een march is abundant with love and faith: Leader
@b= TEHRAN - Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution on Monday described the massive annual Arba’een march as an “unprecedented” and “meaningful” movement which will go down in history.
In his teaching to students of theology in Tehran, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said the march towards Karbala demonstrates a “combination of ‘love and faith’ and ‘wisdom and compassion’.”
Arba’een marks the 40th day after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Shiite Imam and grandson of Prophet Muhammad (S).
He recommended that Muslims seize the opportunity and attend this great event, Tasnim reported.
The Leader said he wished that he was among the pilgrims walking toward Karbala. He also thanked the Iraqis for serving pilgrims during the march toward the shrine of Imam Hussein.
Ayatollah Khamenei further advised the Iranian pilgrims going to Iraq’s holy sites for Arba’een to observe the departure rules, stressing, “The government has set certain regulations for exiting the country which should certainly be obeyed.”

Pilgrims need to attain visa to visit Iraq

Earlier on Sunday, Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular and Expatriates’ Affairs Hassan Qashqavi had stressed the need for obeying the regulations for travelling to Iraq, announcing that visa requirements for pilgrims going to the country for Arba’een will not be waived under any circumstances.
Speaking to the Tasnim news agency in the southwestern city of Khorramshahr, Qashqavi rejected claims that crossing borders is possible without a visa, saying that visa requirements will not be lifted under any conditions.
Pointing to the massive influx of Iranian pilgrims arriving at the country’s joint borders with Iraq, he said over 1,550,000 pilgrims have passed border crossings so far.
The Foreign Ministry official went on to say that the number of pilgrims traveling to Iraq has increased by 47 percent compared to last year’s.
Each year, a huge crowd of Shiites flock to Karbala to perform mourning rites of Arba’een. It is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world.
Last year, around 20 million pilgrims from all over the world gathered in Karbala to attend the mourning ceremonies.

Over 5,000 IRGC forces guard pilgrims along borders with Iraq

The IRGC has stationed hundreds of its forces along the borders with Iraq to protect the Iranian pilgrims, Fars quoted a local IRGC official in Khuzestan as saying on Sunday.

“Over 5,000 troops of IRGC’s Hazrat Vali-e Asr Corps of Khuzestan Province are stationed along the Shalamcheh and Chazaba borders to help and protect the Iranian pilgrims,” said Hassan Shahvarpour, commander of IRGC’s Vali-e Asr Corps.

In relevant remarks on Saturday, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said full security is prevalent in the country’s borders with Iraq.

“There has been no report of any action threatening the security at borders,” Rahmani Fazli said.

MD/P