TEHRAN — Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber said on Sunday that various Muslim sects are attending the Arabeen pilgrimage and the Iraqi government is pleased to host them.

“Arbaeen pilgrimage is the largest religious ritual in the Islamic world, which has been unprecedented in history in terms of the number of participants and the scope of the event,” the vice president stated.

He then said the Iraqi government considers the hosting of Arbaeen pilgrims as an honor.

“The governments of Iran and Iraq serve Arbaeen pilgrims side by side and have cooperated cordially with each other to prepare the necessary infrastructure for the presence of millions of pilgrims in Iraq,” he explained. 

Mokhber underscored that ministries, particularly the interior ministry, and all related institutions as well as activists and governors have fully cooperated to facilitate the Arbaeen walk ritual.

At the same time, he said, the hot weather and the number of pilgrims in this year’s Arbaeen have been unprecedented.

The vice president added that the Iraqi people selflessly provided everything they had to host their Iranian brothers and sisters and made their homes hospitable to them and empathetically hosted them in this spiritual journey.

However, he stated, “The deficiencies of some infrastructures in Iraq have created limitations.”

“The coordination between the governments of Iran and Iraq is continuous and the two governments are trying to facilitate the pilgrimage of Iranian pilgrims in Iran and Iraq as much as possible. In addition to sending Iranian buses to Iraq, an air flight has been established to send food and water to Iraq in order to solve the reported shortages as soon as possible,” the vice president stated.