Iran’s all six border crossings with Iraq have been closed to Arbaeen pilgrims, causing problems on the Iranian side of the borders.
Iranian officials have asked passengers to avoid land border crossings for at least the next 48 hours, Fars News Agency reported on Friday.
Shortcomings at the border crossings include insufficient number of buses on the Iraqi side, limited number of gates on the Iraqi side and shortage of water and food supplies for stranded passengers.
Local Iranian governorates and customs officials in provinces neighboring Iraq have asked pilgrims to refrain from traveling to Iraq, as a growing number of passengers are stranded behind the borders.
Majid Mir-Ahmadi, the head of Arbaeen Central Headquarters, said there are not enough buses on the Iraqi side to transport Iranian pilgrims to Karbala, adding that Iran has sent buses to Iraq to help with the situation.
Iraq hosts millions of Iranians every year for Arbaeen, a major Shia event marking the 40th-day anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (PBUH), the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and his 72 family members and companions.
Exports Suspended
Exports to Iraq via the three border crossings of Shalamcheh, Chazzabeh and Mehran have been suspended until Sept. 17 to make room for pilgrims who have traveled for the Arbaeen commemoration, the spokesperson of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration announced recently. Rouhollah Latifi added that traders can use other border crossings, namely Parvizkhan, Soumar, Shoshemi, Sheikh Saleh and Khorramshahr’s marine border crossing, IRNA reported.
“The measure has been taken because these border crossings do not have the capacity to accommodate both pilgrims and exporting trucks at the same time,” he said.
Iran’s exports to Iraq during the first four months of the current Iranian year (March 21-July 22) saw more than a 15% decline compared with the similar period of last year.
According to Secretary-General of Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce Jahanbakhsh Sanjabi Shirazi, during the four months under review, Iran exported 6.93 million tons of goods to Iraq worth $2.39 billion.
Iran and Iraq traded 25.93 million tons of goods worth $8.64 billion since Ebrahim Raisi took office as Iran’s president in August 23, 2021, as of June 21, 2022.
First Unrestricted Pilgrimage Since Covid Outbreak
Millions of Shia pilgrims are converging on Iraq to participate in the religious observance of Arbaeen. While many have been traveling by land through the Iran-Iraq border crossings, these were shut today for controlling a surge in inflows, AL-Monitor reported on Friday.
The holy day begins next Friday and lasts through Saturday evening.
This is the first year since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic that pilgrims can enter Iraq in large numbers and without restrictions.
About 5 million pilgrims have entered Iraq so far and the number is rising significantly, according to a source from Iraq's border authority.
Iran’s Interior Ministry announced that all borders with Iraq were closed as of Friday and called on Iranians to refrain from traveling to Iraq due to Iraq's inability to receive any more pilgrims.
It also called on all Iranian pilgrims inside Iraq to return to Iran as soon as they finish the ceremony to open space for others to attend.
According to a previous agreement between the two countries, Iranian pilgrims receive visas on arrival without pre-requests.
Iraq waived visas at its airports last year for Iranians, allowing Iranian citizens to enter Iraq without visas.
Afghans Add to Border Pressure
In addition to the large numbers of Iranian pilgrims, thousands of Afghan citizens are also entering Iraq through Iran as per a bilateral agreement between Iran and Iraq.
Iraq has had no diplomatic relationship with Afghanistan since the Taliban came to power last year. Therefore, Iraq has decided to receive Afghan pilgrims who obtained multiple-entry visas to Iran. They come to Iraq through Iran and return with the same visa.
This has put a great deal of pressure on Iraqi authorities who are managing the ceremony and pilgrims.
The Iraqi government had established a special committee under the guidance of Interior Minister Othman Ghanemi, with high-ranking members from other relevant authorities, including the Health Ministry, border crossing authorities and others.
A majority of services, including accommodation, are managed by Iraqi volunteers who offer food, clothing and accommodations to pilgrims on their way to Karbala, where Imam Hussein's (PBUH) holy shrine is located.
Transportation, medical services and electricity and other public services are the government's responsibility.
Arbaeen is held on Sept. 17. The ceremony, however, takes place over three weeks — two weeks before the date and a week after — as pilgrims mostly walk to the holy shrine from surrounding cities; some even use a longer track from southern Iraqi cities like Basra, Amarah and Nasiriyah.
So far this year, there have been no security challenges to the ceremony, unlike the years before the pandemic when the Islamic State organized attacks on Shia pilgrims.
Arbaeen — with all of its challenges — has created a calm in Iraq amid an ongoing political crisis that began after the elections last October. Two weeks ago, rival Shia groups — Sadrists and the Coordination Framework — clashed violently in the Green Zone, leaving more than 60 dead and almost a thousand injured.
The political crisis is expected to resume after Arbaeen, as both sides have become inflexible toward a political solution.
