Karbala’s Al-Abbas Shrine dispatches second humanitarian convoy to Iran

KARBALA — The Al-Abbas Shrine in Karbala announced Sunday the launch of a second humanitarian aid convoy to Iran carrying relief and medical assistance.

Secretary-General Mustafa al-Dhiaa al-Din said the shrine views the aid “not as a favor, but rather a moral duty and a humanitarian message dictated to us by the eternal values of heaven and the principles of our religion,” and said the initiative follows the guidance of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s Marjaiya.

The shrine dispatched its first convoy to Iran in April, carrying 690 tons of aid including food supplies and medical materials for people affected by the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. The convoys are part of a broader campaign coordinated through shrine and religious authority offices inside and outside Iraq. Since the war began, Iraqis — particularly in Shia-majority southern governorates — have been collecting and sending humanitarian aid across the border.

The Al-Abbas Shrine is one of Iraq’s most significant Shia religious sites, built around the tomb of Abbas ibn Ali, a revered figure in Islamic history.