Iran police chief visits Mehran border to monitor Arbaeen pilgrims' commute

TEHRAN (defapress) – Iran’s Police Chief Brigadier General Hossein Ashtari made a trip to Iran-Iraq Mehran border crossing to be informed of the quality of services provided to Arbaeen pilgrims.

News ID: 79040

Date: 19 October 2019 - 15:33

According to Brigadier General Ashtari, the Arbaeen pilgrims are traveling between Iran and Iraq from four border crossings smoothly.

This year, four borders of Khosravi, Mehran, Chazzabeh, and Shalamcheh are open to the Arbaeen pilgrims.

According to the governor of Ilam province, Ghasemi Soleimani, some 1.1 million vehicles have passed through Mehran border crossing in the past three weeks.

Arbaeen, which is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, comes 40 days after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (PBUH).

Each year, millions of people flock to Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hossein is located, to perform mourning rites. This year, Arbaeen culminates on Saturday, October 19.

In comments on Thursday, Iran's Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said a total of 3.5 million Iranians had entered Iraq to take part in the religious ceremony, 1.2 million more than the number reported last year and topping previous participation records.

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