Arbaeen Procession; Death of at least 9 Iranian Citizens in Karbala, Over Eight Thousand Patients
As official news spread about chaos at Iran’s western borders due to Iranian citizens gathering to enter Iraq for Arbaeen, Iran’s Red Crescent confirmed the deaths of 9 Iranian citizens in Iraq.
According to Iranian media reports, Pirouz Hanachi, head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society, said on Friday, September 8, without referring to the causes of death of these citizens, that this figure only relates to the city of Karbala.
No reports have been published so far regarding the casualties of Iranian citizens in other Iraqi cities.
Meanwhile, the head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society announced that so far more than 8,400 “Iranian pilgrims” have visited the organization’s medical centers in Iraq to receive medical services, of which more than 6,500 suffered from heat stroke.
Also, Gholamreza Alimohammadi, CEO of Ilam Red Crescent Society, reported injuries to 20 “Arbaeen pilgrims” on the Dasht Abbas to Dehloran route due to a minibus rollover.
Iraq’s Urban Relief Headquarters also reported on September 6 in a statement about the deaths of two people, including an Iranian female citizen, following a fire in a hotel in Karbala.
Despite extensive propaganda by the Islamic Republic about the readiness of facilities for the government ceremony of “Arbaeen Walk” based on public reports and social media users’ accounts, and simultaneously with the confirmation of official authorities, the situation at Iran-Iraq borders and in Iraqi religious cities has been chaotic to the extent that Islamic Republic officials announced on Friday, September 8, the closure of all borders leading to Iranian exit routes to Iraq due to “inadequate facilities, overcrowding, and hot weather.”
Based on images published on social media, thousands of Iranian citizens are stranded behind Iraq’s borders with access to minimal facilities.
Some users who experienced being at border points in the past hours and days have warned about the occurrence of an incident worse than “Mina,” an incident during the Hajj pilgrimage in 2015 that, according to Saudi Arabia’s official statistics, left around 800 dead, while other sources reported over two thousand casualties. This incident occurred due to crowd overcrowding.
In addition to public reports, official sources have also warned about the current situation at the country’s western borders, including the head of the Central Arbaeen Headquarters who on Friday, referring to unsuitable conditions and crowd overcrowding, said that “continuation of the current situation will certainly pose serious health and safety risks for pilgrims.”
Hours after this announcement, Ahmad Vahidi, Iran’s Interior Minister, while asking Iranian citizens to return from routes leading to the borders, announced the police’s readiness to block all routes and said that under these circumstances “it is not wise to have such large gatherings.”
Islamic Republic officials in recent months have repeatedly announced the holding of a “grand Arbaeen Walk” and estimated the number of Iranians heading to Iraq for this religious occasion between five to over six million people. The website of Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, also on September 6 published a special issue referring to this ceremony as a “global march.”
Source: Radio Farda
