TEHRAN– The head of the representative office of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization in Iraq Mohsen Esmail Sagharchi has forecast that between five and six million Iranian pilgrims will take part in this year’s Arbaeen march.

Speaking to the Iraqi official news agency (INA), Sagharchi said that the brotherly relations and solidarity between the Iraqi and Iranian peoples would contribute to the expected turnout.

He added that during Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s recent visit to Iraq, coordination was carried out with Iraqi officials and relevant authorities over logistical

support and necessary measures inside the country.

The Iranian official said the Islamic

 Republic will participate in the Arbaeen pilgrimage by operating around 3,000 service stations – known as mokeb – at Iraq’s holy sites.
He added that the governors of Najaf and Karbala had pledged to provide fuel quotas for those service stations, well as other necessary logistical support to help serve Iranian pilgrims.
Arbaeen marks the 40th day after Ashura, which commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (PBUH), the third Shia Imam.
Every year, millions of pilgrims from Iran and other Muslim countries travel to Iraq to take part in the annual Arbaeen pilgrimage, many of them making the journey on foot to the holy city of Karbala, home to the shrine of Imam Hussein (PBUH). This year, Arbaeen falls on August 4.