Deputy FM: Visa, Passport Required for Iranian Pilgrims Attending Arabaeen in Iraq

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular, Parliamentary and Expatriates' Affairs Hassan Qashqavi announced that the nationals seeking to participate in Arbaeen mourning ceremony in Iraq are required to have passports and visas.

Qashqavi pointed to a meeting of a task force to organize pilgrimage of Iranian nationals to the holy city of Karbala on Arbaeen, and said that during the session, all preparations and necessary measures to facilitate large presence of the Iranian nationals in the Arbaeen ceremony were studied.

“…we have to say that attendance in this years’ Arbaeen ceremony (in Iraq) is not possible without obtaining passport and visa,” he noted.

In response to a question about how nationals can get passports and visas, Qashqavi said during the task force’s meeting attended by Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli and the Iraqi ambassador to Tehran, the issue was discussed.

The necessary cooperation will be made by Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Hassan Danaeifar, he added.

Earlier on Monday, Head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization Saeed Ohadi had told Tasnim that some 100 passport gates have been set up in Mehran border crossing in the western province of Ilam and about 50 others have been built on Iraqi soil to facilitate the crossing of pilgrims.

The Arbaeen mourning ceremony is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world.

It marks the 40th day after the martyrdom anniversary of the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), Imam Hussein (AS).

Each year, pilgrims, mainly from Iraq and Iran, travel long routes on foot to Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) is located.