TEHRAN – All border crossings leading to Iraq have been closed on Arbaeen pilgrims due to the worrying situation of health and security inside Iraq.

In the wake of worrying incidents that happened at the Shalamcheh and Mehran borders and serious threats to the health and security of the pilgrims, high-ranking officials decided to close borders until further notice, IRIB quoted Majid Mir-Ahmadi, the head of the Arbaeen pilgrimage headquarters, as saying.

A lack of appropriate infrastructure in Iraq for accepting the pilgrims on one hand and hot weather, on the other hand, convinced us to take the decision, he explained.

Mojtaba Khaledi, the spokesman for the Iranian Medical Emergency Organization, announced on Thursday that 10,325 pilgrims have been referred to healthcare stations having signs of heatstroke.

 The Arbaeen pilgrimage, which is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, comes 40 days after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Imam of Shia Muslims, and the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Each year, a huge crowd of people flocks to Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) is located, to perform mourning rituals.

This year Arbaeen falls on September 17.

Before the outbreak of coronavirus, some 2 to 3 million Iranians attended annually in the Arbaeen march. However, last year, the rituals were held virtually to avoid the transmission of the disease.

MG