Despite Several Arrests in Iraq; 'Iranian Pilgrims for Arbaeen are Safe'

While an Iraqi security official reported the arrest of at least 'six terrorists' who intended to 'attack Arbaeen pilgrims', Iranian officials assure the safety of the route and the Arbaeen ceremony. The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted Saad Ma'an, spokesperson for the Baghdad Operations Command, stating that Iraqi security forces arrested 'two terrorists' who planned to 'attack Arbaeen pilgrims' in southern Baghdad on Friday, December 6. Mr. Ma'an also reported the arrest of 'four other terrorists' in another location in southern Baghdad. Nevertheless, Iranian officials claim that Iranian Arbaeen pilgrims are safe, including Ahmadreza Pourdastan, commander of the Iranian Army's Ground Forces, who stated that 'no anti-security movements have been observed for Arbaeen pilgrims so far.' According to a report on Saturday, December 7, from the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), Mr. Pourdastan urged pilgrims to cross the borders with 'complete calm' and emphasized: 'Any anti-security movement will be destroyed in its infancy.' On the same day, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, Iran's Minister of Interior, also stated that 'we have not witnessed any anti-security actions against Arbaeen pilgrims so far, and we have only identified one or two individuals with misleading propaganda and returned them to the country.' Regarding the 'possibility of terrorists entering with pilgrims' upon their return from Iraq to Iran, Mr. Rahmani Fazli said: 'We will continue the same controls that we have implemented when exiting the country upon the entry of pilgrims, and we will even increase the controls to identify anyone trying to enter the country illegally.' Hossein Salami, deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also stated that 'with the efforts of security, law enforcement, and the IRGC, good and sufficient intelligence oversight has been achieved at the borders' and warned that 'any movement by Takfiri groups will be met with a crushing response from Iran.' The Arbaeen ceremony, which commemorates the fortieth day after the martyrdom of the third Imam of Shia Muslims and his family and companions, takes place around the current city of Karbala in Iraq, and for several years, hundreds of thousands of Iranians have traveled to Karbala to participate in this ceremony and the Ashura observances. This comes amid concerns about the security of the ceremony following the Islamic State's (ISIS) occupation of parts of Iraqi territory.