Iranian FM Congratulates Iraq on Successful Handling of Arbaeen
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif offered his congratulations to the Iraqi people and government on the Arab country’s success to hold the Arbaeen ceremony, the world’s biggest religious congregation, in peace and safety.
On Thursday, some 27 million Muslims from around the world gathered in the holy city of Karbala to pay tribute to Imam Hussain (AS), the third Shiite Imam.
“Undoubtedly, this year’s glorious ceremony of Arbaeen was a true example of unity among all God-seekers, monotheists and the world’s freedom seekers on the basis of seeking for justice, fighting against oppression and extremism, and confronting deviation from values and true divine teachings,” Zarif said in a message on Thursday.
He further expressed his gratitude to the Iraqi nation for “generously and properly hosting millions of pilgrims, including Iranian nationals”.
The pilgrims with different nationalities performed mourning rites on Arbaeen, which comes 40 days after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS).
Most of the pilgrims had marched all the way to Karbala from cities like Najaf and Baghdad in a show of devotion.
Iranians accounted for 60 percent of the foreign pilgrims, followed by travelers from Bahrain, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan and Qatar.
Around 300,000 security forces were tasked with ensuring the safety of pilgrims and countering the potential terrorist attacks.
No safety problem has been reported during the ceremony thanks to the large number of the security forces.