Millions of Shiites, including Iran’s FM, make Arbaeen pilgrimage in Iraq

By AP 4 August 2026, 6:39 pm

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, center, is surrounded by security personnel as he walks during the Arbaeen commemoration in Najaf, Iraq, August 3, 2026. (AP/Anmar Khalil)

Millions of Shiite Muslims observe the annual Arbaeen pilgrimage in the Iraqi holy city of Karbala, under the shadow of ongoing regional tensions and fears of another round of escalation in the US-Iran war.

Arbaeen is held 40 days after Ashura, which commemorates the killing of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, and members of his family, at the Battle of Karbala in 680 A.D.

Karbala Gov. Nasseif Jassim al-Khattabi says more than 22 million people entered the city during the pilgrimage, including about 5 million non-Iraqi visitors as well as Iraqis from different regions of the country.

Among the highest-profile foreign visitors is Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who arrived in the Iraqi city of Najaf yesterday and continued on to Karbala to take part in the pilgrimage.