Iran’s Khosravi Border Crossing to Reopen for Arbaeen: Official
Bahman Amiri Moqaddam said on Saturday that it will open again after talks with related Iraqi officials.
He added that the border crossing will be operational 24/7 during the Arbaeen season.
He also said that the first group of Iranian pilgrims going to holy cities in Iraq via the crossing will travel to the Arab country in coming days.
Iran’s land borders with Iraq were closed in 2020 after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Arbaeen mourning ceremony is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world.
It marks the 40th day after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), Imam Hussein (AS). This year’s Arbaeen falls on September 17.
Each year, a huge crowd of Shias flock to Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) is located, to perform mourning rites.
The pilgrims, mainly from Iraq and Iran, travel long routes on foot to the holy city.
Some 3.2 million Iranians took part in the Arbaeen march in 2019 but this year the number is predicted to rise to an all-time high of over five million.
In 2020 and 2021, the Arbaeen march was held in Iraq with a limited number of foreign pilgrims in attendance due to the coronavirus pandemic.
