Air Defense Coverage to Be Provided for Arbaeen Pilgrims: Commander
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base announced that the country is closely monitoring its airspace over the western region and beyond it to ensure security for the Shiite pilgrims during Arbaeen religious ceremony.
In a speech during a military ceremony on Sunday, Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili highlighted the measures taken to provide security for Shiite pilgrims going to Iraq during Arbaeen, which falls in early December.
Iran’s integrated air defense network will completely cover the airspace above pilgrims to Iraq during the Arbaeen ceremony, as it did in previous years, the commander said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Hossein Zolfaqari, head of the Arbaeen Task Force, predicted that around two million Iranian pilgrims would go to Iraq to perform mourning rituals marking this year’s Arbaeen.
He also said that around 900,000 Iranians have signed up so far to get a visa and travel to Iraq on Arbaeen.
Arbaeen, on which one of the largest religious gatherings in the world is held in the Iraqi holy city of Karbala, comes 40 days after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of the third Shiite Imam, Imam Hussein (AS).
Each year, a huge crowd of Shiites flock to Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) is located, to perform mourning rites.
Last year, around 20 million pilgrims from all over the world gathered in Karbala to attend the mourning ceremonies marking Arbaeen.
