Iranian Official Urges Pilgrims to Delay Trips to Iraq
Seyed Majid Mirahmadi, who also heads the Arbaeen Central Headquarters, said in a statement that following the unrest in Iraq, the Baghdad government has imposed curfews in a number of cities.
He told IRIB that since ensuring the security of pilgrims is a top priority, it is necessary that Iranian pilgrims postpone their trips to Iraq until further notice.
Mirahmadi also said with the efforts of Iran’s embassy in Baghdad, those pilgrims who are already in Iraq will, God willing, return to the country safely.
With the Arbaeen season approaching, a large number of Iranians are planning to travel to Iraq to take part in the annual Arbaeen procession.
Some have already made the trip via land borders between the two countries or by air.
However, the recent unrest in Iraq has raised some concerns.
Iraq has been in a political deadlock since last October’s general elections. Rival parties have failed to agree on the formation of a new government, leading to protests and occupation of parliament.
The political bloc led by prominent cleric Muqtada al-Sadr emerged as the biggest parliamentary faction in the election, but fell short of an absolute majority needed to form a government, causing the existing political stalemate in the country.
In June, all 73 legislators of the bloc quit their seats in a move seen as an attempt to pressure political rivals into expediting the formation of a government.
Sadr and his supporters have helped inflame tensions over the last two weeks with thousands of his followers storming and occupying the country's parliament and preventing the formation of a government nearly 10 months after the last elections.
On Monday, Sadr announced that he is quitting political life and closing his political offices.
In his statement, Sadr also attacked his political opponents, saying that they had failed to heed his calls for reform.
Following the announcement, Sadr’s supporters stormed the Republican Palace, which is a ceremonial building inside Baghdad's fortified Green Zone of government buildings, clashing with security forces who finally gained control of the palace.
Later on Monday, Iraq's Joint Operations Command set a full curfew in the capital of Baghdad until further notice, which began at 19:00 local time (1600 GMT), state news agency INA reported. It also urged the protesters to leave the Green Zone to avoid clashes.
According to Iraqi medics and police sources, 12 people have been so far killed and as many as 270 others injured in clashes in the capital Baghdad.
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