Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of his visit to the border crossing of Shalamcheh in Khuzestan on Tuesday, Alawi said over the past couple of days, three terrorist teams have been identified and smashed.
He said 15 members of the terrorist cells have been arrested, adding that they have admitted they had intended to carry out suicide attacks targeting Iranian pilgrims visiting Iraq in the Arbaeen season.
Arbaeen, which is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, 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 the Iraqi city of Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) is located, to perform mourning rites.
Iranian pilgrims traveling to Iraq by land can choose from three border crossings, Shalamcheh, Chazzabeh and Mehran.
This year’s Arbaeen falls on October 30.