AhlulBayt News Agency: The head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization expressed his appreciation for the full assistance of the Saudi government and the cooperation of the Iraqi government in transporting Iranian Hajj pilgrims.
Alireza Bayat visited the Saudi-Iraqi land border on Tuesday to inspect the process of return of pilgrims to Iran.
“With the relentless efforts of my colleagues in the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, the issue of returning pilgrims has been managed, and today alone, 9,600 pilgrims in 67 air-land convoys will return to the holy city of Karbala and then to Iran,” he stated.
“To date, the number of pilgrims returning to the country has reached more than 60,000, equivalent to 70 percent of those sent to Hajj, and within the next week, all 86,700 of the Iranian Hajj pilgrims will have returned to the country.”
Regarding the possibility of re-establishing direct flights between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the coming days, he said, “We are in constant contact with senior officials in the country, and as soon as it is possible to establish safe flights, the necessary measures will definitely be taken urgently.”
After the Israeli regime launched its aggression on Iran on June 13, all flights to the country, including those taking Iranian Hajj pilgrims back home were cancelled for safety reasons.
The Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization said in a statement later, “Following the cancellation of flights and the inability to use air transport, the organization evaluated all possible options for the safe return of pilgrims and ultimately adopted a combined air-land travel plan to facilitate their repatriation.”
Under the arranged plan—coordinated with the Saudi government—pilgrims will be flown 1,000 km from Medina to Arar Airport near the Iraqi border via Saudi airlines. They will then be transported by prearranged buses to either Najaf or Karbala, the statement noted.
After a short rest and visiting the holy shrines in those cities, pilgrims will be transferred by buses to Iran’s borders and then onward to their hometowns, it said.
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