Iran threatens to arrest foreign nationals without passports to travel to Iraq

The Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Police, General Ahmad Reza Radan, threatened on Wednesday to arrest those he described as "illegal foreign nationals" who want to travel to Iraq to participate in the Arbaeen pilgrimage without having official papers or approved passports. General Radan said in press statements that "citizens and foreign nationals who are not authorized to travel to Iraq to participate in the Arbaeen pilgrimage cannot go to Iraq, and if these people move towards the border, they will be arrested and transferred to camps." He added, "Citizens should know that at the border, no one will be given an official letter or passport to cross into Iraq, and everyone must prepare their passports before heading to the land ports." General Radan warned illegal Afghans and Pakistanis in Iran, "Non-Iranian citizens who are inside the country illegally should also know that if they go to the border, they will be arrested and sent to camps to be deported to their countries." Regarding the number of Ir anians who registered on the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization's website to participate in the Arbaeen pilgrimage this year, the Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Police responded, 'About two million people have registered, and we have issued one and a half million passports so far, 650 of which are transit papers, not passports. This was done in coordination with the Iraqi side. Source: National Iraqi News Agency