Iraq to lift visa requirement for Iranian Arbaeen pilgrims

An official with the Iranian Interior Ministry says that Iraq will remove the visa requirement for Arbaeen pilgrims from Iran.

Majid Mirahmadi, deputy Interior Minister and head of Iran’s Arbaeen Headquarters, said that according to negotiations made between Tehran and Baghdad, the visa requirement for Iranian pilgrims will be removed during Arbaeen.

Speaking to reporters on the sideline of a meeting of the Headquarters, he said that the Iraqi interior minister is also set to visit Tehran in the near future.

Arbaeen comes 40 days after Ashura, which marks the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein, peace be upon him. This year’s Arbaeen falls around September 17.

Each year, a huge crowd of Shias walk from Najaf to Karbala to perform mourning rituals.

The ritual had been limited in the past two years due to the Covid-19 outbreak.