Iranians’ participation in Arba'een procession this year off table: President

President Hassan Rouhani announced the cancellation of Iranians’ participation in this year’s Arba'een procession in Iraq due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.

According to Tasnim news agency, in remarks at a Saturday meeting of the national headquarters for combating the coronavirus, Rouhani said no pilgrim would travel to Iraq this year for the mourning rituals marking Arba'een – the religious gathering in commemoration of the third Shias' Imam, Hussein ibn Ali (PBUH).

The president said the coronavirus situation in Iraq is much worse than that in Iran with only one month before Arba'een.

It is also impossible to control a huge gathering of pilgrims in terms of health protocols, he noted.

A few days ago, Deputy Interior Minister for Security Affairs Hossein Zolfaqari said Baghdad has decided to bar all foreign pilgrims from visiting Iraq for this year’s Arba'een season in the wake of the pandemic.

Each year, millions of Shias flock to the Iraqi city of Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (PBUH) is located, to perform mourning rites 40 days after Ashura.

ME