Visit of Iran's Vice President to Arbaeen Ceremony in Iraq

As the Arbaeen ceremony is held in Iraq with millions of pilgrims from various countries, Iran's First Vice President, Eshaq Jahangiri, also traveled to Najaf and headed towards Karbala on Sunday, November 30, to observe the services provided to the pilgrims. According to the state news agency IRNA, after arriving in Najaf to participate in the Arbaeen ceremony, he went to Karbala. He was accompanied by Saeed Ohadi, head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, Masoud Soltani-Far, Minister of Sports and Youth, and Hossein Jaberi Ansari, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Arab and African Affairs. In recent days, several officials from the Islamic Republic of Iran, including Mahmoud Alavi, Minister of Intelligence, Hossein Salami, Deputy Commander of the Revolutionary Guards, and Elham Aminzadeh, Special Assistant to the President, had also been present among the pilgrims at three borders of Iran. He considered the holding of this ceremony despite the conflicts in Mosul as a "sign of the power of the Iraqi government." On Saturday, the First Vice President of Iran had also expressed hope in a phone call with Haider al-Abadi, the Prime Minister of Iraq, that "with the removal of existing weaknesses," the Arbaeen ceremony would be held better in the coming years. Haider al-Abadi also stated in this phone call that "terrorists" are seeking to harm the pilgrims of the Arbaeen ceremony and that the Iraqi government has made "extra efforts" to ensure the safety of the pilgrims. According to Hossein Ashtari, the commander of the police force, more than 2 million Iranians have traveled to Iraq to participate in the Arbaeen ceremony. He reported on Sunday that about 1 million and 100 thousand people have returned to Iran from three borders: Mehran, Shalamcheh, and Chazabeh. Iranian officials stated that due to the large number of "visa-less" pilgrims at the Mehran border and the closure of the route to Karbala because of the high number of pilgrims, the Iraqi government closed this border with a concrete wall starting from Thursday morning, November 27. Reports indicate that in recent days, thousands of people without visas have been stranded at the borders of Iraq. Officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran have repeatedly warned in recent weeks about Iranian pilgrims traveling to Iraq without visas. For instance, Hamidreza Goudarzi, spokesman for the Central Arbaeen Headquarters, reported on Friday, November 29, that 600 Iranian pilgrims who "lacked legal documents" and entered Iraq "outside official crossings" were arrested by the security forces of that country and handed over to Iranian security officials. Meanwhile, Hossein Polarak, head of the Reconstruction Headquarters of the Holy Shrines, predicted that a total of 25 million people from various countries would participate in this year's Arbaeen ceremony. In recent weeks, some organizations in Iran have announced the provision of facilities for the Arbaeen pilgrims. According to Tehran municipality officials, sending 3,000 garbage bins to Iraq, transferring 2,000 municipal staff to work in pilgrimage cities in Iraq, constructing about 200 toilets in Iran's border cities, and transporting pilgrims with 700 buses are among the actions of this institution for this year's Arbaeen. Gholamali Nistan, CEO of the Student Qard al-Hasan Fund of Iran, also announced on Tuesday, November 10, that a loan of one million tomans would be provided to participating students in the Arbaeen pilgrimage without waiting in line. In this context, Iraq closed the Mehran border "due to the large number of pilgrims," and Nasser Makarem Shirazi declared traveling without a visa to Iraq as "haram."