AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The first group of Hajj pilgrims from Iran arrived in the holy city of Medina on Monday morning, May 13.
It included some 250 pilgrims from the provinces of Tehran and Kermanshah.
They had left Tehran’s Imam Khomeini (RA) International Airport earlier in the day.
The Iranian pilgrims were welcomed at the Medina airport with flowers and rose water and then transferred to their hotels.
The outgoing flights to Saudi Arabia will continue until June 2, the report noted, adding that Iranians will remain in Saudi Arabia for an average of 33 days.
According to Hajj officials, 87,550 have finalized the registration for taking part in the spiritual journey this year.
Hojat-ol-Islam Abdul Fattah Navab, the representative of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs, announced last Monday the motto of Iran for this year's Hajj.
“Hajj: Quran-centrism, sympathy, authority of Muslim Ummah, and defense of oppressed Palestine” has been chosen as the motto, he said.
He also said that Iranian pilgrims will be transported between Mecca and Medina using trains.
Last year, some 85,000 Iranians took part in the Hajj pilgrimage, marking a 114% rise compared to the year before, which saw restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Every year, except for the years that the number of pilgrims was reduced due to the coronavirus pandemic, nearly three million Muslims from around the world gather in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the annual Hajj.
Hajj is a pilgrimage to Mecca that every able-bodied and financially able Muslim is obliged to undertake at least once during their lifetime.
The annual pilgrimage is regarded as one of the pillars of Islam and the largest act of mass pilgrimage in the world.
It is also a demonstration of Muslims’ unity and their submission to Allah.
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