TEHRAN—On Saturday, some 35,000 Iranian pilgrims crossed the Khosravi border crossing on their way to Karbala, where Imam Hussein (AS), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), is laid to rest.

“Over 35,700 pilgrims, of whom 34,950 were Iranian nationals, passed along the Khosravi border crossing on Saturday,” a local official said.

So far, more than 93,100 pilgrims have crossed the border crossing since August 18, the official said.

The figures released by the Iranian authorities show that over 700,000 Iranian pilgrims have been sent to Iraq from the six border crossings at the shared border with Iraq, showing a 43% increase compared to that of a year earlier.

Last weekend, the Iranian ministers of interior and health visited the shared border crossings to inspect the facilities and relief equipment at the border for Arbaeen pilgrims.

Arbaeen, which falls on September 6 this year, marks an end to the 40-day mourning period following the martyrdom of the third Shia Imam and his loyal companions at the Battle of Karbala on Muharram 10, 680 CE.

AFM