Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-abdollahian said this year’s Arbaeen procession demonstrated the strong ties between the Iranian and Iraqi nations.
In a post on his Twitter account on Sunday, Amir-abdollahian thanked the people, government and armed forces of Iraq for hosting Iranian and non-Iranian pilgrims during the Arbaeen season.
“This year’s Arbaeen rituals once again proved that the two nations of Iran and Iraq have an unbreakable bond,” he also said.
More than three million Iranians traveled to Iraq in recent days to take part in the annual Arbaeen procession.
On Saturday, millions of black-clad pilgrims gathered at Imam Hussein’s (AS) holy shrine in Karbala to culminate the week-long procession in commemoration of the 40th day after the martyrdom anniversary of Prophet Mohammad’s (PBUH) grandson, who was killed along with his companions during the battle of Karbala in 680 AD.
Men, women, teens and elders came together in the Iraqi city to pay tribute and renew their allegiance to Imam Hussein (AS), who is the all-time icon of fighting injustice, oppression and despotism.
The annual event, which is one of the largest religious congregations in the world, brings together a deluge of Imam Hussein’s (AS) lovers and devotees from various nationalities who undertake an 80-km walk between the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.
The tradition, which attracts millions of people from across the world every year, is meant to sympathize with Imam Hussein (AS) on the pains he endured in the event of Karbala, where he and 72 of his companions were brutally slaughtered by Yazid’s army.
Source: Iranian media (edited by Al-Manar English Website)
