Tehran, Iran, November 11
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Thirty-six Iranians have been arrested in Iraq for entering the country without a visa, said Hassan Qashqavi, deputy foreign minister for consular affairs, Tasnim news agency reported November 11.
He said the mentioned amount of people have been arrested in the past 48 hours.
So far 1.5 million visas have been issued for Iranians to visit Iraq during the religious ceremony of Arbaeen held in Karbala.
The official said it is predicted that the number of visas issued for Iranians will reach three million by the day of Arbaeen, November 20 (Shia Muslim religious observance that occurs forty days after the Day of Ashura).
Qashqavi added the Iranian embassy in Iraq is working to organize the release of mentioned 36 people.
Last year 2 million Iranians visited Iraq on Arbaeen, many of them without a visa.
But this year both Iran and Iraq have tightened security measures to prevent unauthorized travels.
On November 6, suicidal attacks in two Iraqi cities of Tikrit and Samarra claimed at least 39 lives, including some 10 Iranians.