Tasnim � The spokesman for the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) highlighted the extensive measures taken to provide good services for the Iranian pilgrims visiting neighboring Iraq during the Arbaeen season.

Speaking to Tasnim, Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif said based on planning and the decisions taken by IRGC Commander Major General Hossein Salami, the provincial forces in the western provinces of Kermanshah, Ilam, and Khuzestan, stepped up to the plate and provided needed equipment and facilities to help stage the Arbaeen march more splendidly than ever.

The IRGC has carried out some infrastructure works such as road widening and asphalt paving before the march began, he added.

The spokesman went on to say that 6 major sanitary complexes have been set up by the IRGC on the pilgrims� paths, each of which has 250 bathrooms and toilets.

Speaking on Monday, Hossein Zolfaqari, Iran�s deputy interior minister for security affairs, said three million pilgrims had crossed the country�s four borders with Iraq for Arbaeen pilgrimage by then.

This year, the four borders of Khosravi, Mehran, Chazzabeh, and Shalamcheh are open to the Arbaeen pilgrims.

Arbaeen, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, comes 40 days after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of the third Shiite Imam.

Each year, a huge crowd of Shiites flock to the Iraqi city of Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) is located, to perform mourning rites.

In August, Iran and Iraq signed an agreement in Tehran to reopen the Khosravi border crossing and remove visa restrictions for Iranian Arbaeen pilgrims.

Iran and Iraq also agreed to raise the level of services and facilities for the pilgrims and enhance border security during the Arbaeen season, which will culminate in a large gathering in Karbala on October 19.