Iran expects over 4M pilgrims to cross land borders this Holy Arbaeen Pilgrimage

The head of Iran’s Road and Land Transport Authority, Dariush Amani, has announced that more than 4.09 million pilgrims are expected to cross Iran’s land borders into Iraq for this year’s Holy Arbaeen Pilgrimage.

Iranian media reported Amani as saying, “We anticipate more than 4.09 million pilgrims will participate in the Holy Arbaeen Pilgrimage this year through Iran’s land borders.”

He added, “According to predictive models and data from the country’s road management center’s smart systems, of the total number of visitors, 45% will pass through the Mehran border crossing, 26% through Shalamcheh, 15% through Khosravi, 9.5% through Chazabeh, and 2% and 2.5% through Bashmaq and Tamarchin, respectively.”

The Iranian official noted that these projections assume that the Khosravi border will be open 24 hours a day. “If the operating hours of the Khosravi border are reduced to 12 hours, the preference for pilgrims to cross through the Mehran border will increase,” he added.

These expectations come amid intense logistical preparations to facilitate the passage of Iranian pilgrims into Iraq for the Holy Arbaeen Pilgrimage, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, drawing millions of Shia Muslims from around the globe.