Barzani meets Iranian delegation, discusses trade and pilgrimage coordination

ERBIL — Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani met Monday with an Iranian delegation led by West Azerbaijan Governor Reza Rahmani to discuss expanding economic cooperation and facilitating Iranian pilgrim access to Iraq ahead of the annual Arbaeen pilgrimage.

During the meeting in Pirmam, near Erbil, Rahmani delivered “special greetings from Masoud Pezeshkian, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” according to a statement from Barzani Headquarters. The two sides affirmed what the statement described as “the historical relations” between the Kurdistan Region and Iran.

Rahmani expressed appreciation to the Kurdistan Regional Government for assisting Iranian pilgrims crossing into Iraq through the Haji Omaran border point, which opens for Arbaeen travelers today.

The Haji Omaran crossing serves as a key route for both trade and religious travel between Iran and the Kurdistan Region. Use of Kurdish border crossings by Iranian pilgrims has grown steadily in recent years. In 2023, more than 120,000 pilgrims entered Iraq via Haji Omaran, and more than 100,000 used the same route in 2024, according to official figures.

Arbaeen marks the end of a 40-day mourning period following the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in 680 A.D. Millions of Shia Muslims participate in the pilgrimage each year, with many traveling from Iran to visit Hussein’s shrine in the southern Iraqi city of Karbala.