TEHRAN (Tasnim) � Head of Iran�s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization Saeed Ohadi said the county plans to send more pilgrims to neighboring Iraq in the next Iranian calendar year (starts on March 20) to visit the Arab country�s holy sites.


Based on the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization�s plans, more pilgrims from Iran will visit Iraq�s holy sites, Ohadi said in a ceremony on Saturday to commemorate the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.


It has been planned that 105 groups make pilgrimage to Iraq during the upcoming holidays in Nowruz (Iranian New Year), he added.

The official further pointed to the presence of more than 1.6 million Iranian pilgrims in Iraq during last year�s Arbaeen ceremony, which comes 40 days after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), and expressed his gratitude to all those who facilitated the trips.

Each year during Arbaeen, a huge crowd of Shiites flock to Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) is located.

Last year, the number of pilgrims going to Karbala for Arbaeen reached 20 million.

By Tasnim News Agency