Dispatch of more than 5,000 Umrah pilgrims to Hajj in Shawwal

According to the Hajj Information Base, in this meeting which was held today under the chairmanship of Hojjat al-Islam Seyed Abdolfattah Navvab, the Supreme Leader's representative in Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs, Mr. Gholamreza Rezaei stated that the necessary arrangements for the resumption of Umrah trips after a nine-year hiatus have been made.

"On the third day of Ordibehesht, by making two flights from Tehran and Mashhad airports, more than 500 people will be transferred to Medina airport, and four hotels in Mecca and six hotels in Medina will receive pilgrims," he added.

Rezaei stated that during this period Umrah pilgrims from different provinces are sent to the land of revelation.

He reminded the people's welcome to participate in this spiritual journey and said: "So far, the flights have been planned for a period of ten days."

Mr. Seyyed Abbas Hosseini, head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, also said: In addition to preparing the preparations for the trip, coordination and necessary facilities for this spiritual journey have been arranged in the areas of accommodation, nutrition and transportation.

In this meeting, the Hajj and Umrah deputy of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization also reported on the measures taken for Hajj 1403 and emphasized the need to speed up the assignment of pilgrims' examinations, and said that the quota allocated for the upcoming Hajj should be considered completed and some of the desired hotels and kitchens are being equipped.

Hojjat al-Islam Navvab also emphasized the need to pay attention to the pathologies that have occurred in the areas of Hajj and Umrah in order to solve the problems as soon as possible and asked the stakeholders to review, study and consult the necessary plans next week, especially how to perform Umrah after the upcoming Hajj days.

In the continuation of this meeting, Dr. Seyed Ali Marashi, head of Hajj and Pilgrimage Medical Center, pointing out that the examinations of more than 65,000 pilgrims have been confirmed and 8,200 pilgrims are being examined, said that the medical commissions in the provinces and in Tehran would start working within two days. "So far, the cases of 988 people have been referred to the commission."

In this meeting, the Deputy Director of Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization mentioned the 32% increase in the number of pilgrims sent during Nowruz and Ramadan compared to the same period last year and reported an increase in satisfaction with the service.

Mr. Hamid Reza Mohammadi added: 51,300 people have registered to be sent in Farvardin, and most of them have been sent, and capacity building is being done for Ordibehesht.

"Due to the change in the exchange rate allocated by the government for travel to Atabat, it is expected that the cost of land and air travel will increase in proportion to the currency used in the host country from Ordibehesht," he added..

Hojjat al-Islam Navvab, meantime, advised those involved in this area to use all their efforts to increase the costs as little as possible.

H0jjat al-Islam Navvab, after the report of Hojjat al-Islam Hamid Ahmadi, the head of Arbaeen Cultural and Educational Committee and Mr. Mohammadi, Deputy Director of Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, regarding the plans, actions and decisions taken for the upcoming Arbaeen, stated that the policies should be in a forward direction. The honor and dignity of the pilgrims during the Arbaeen Congress should be preserved and especially the needs of the pilgrims on the ground in the exit areas to Iraq should be provided.

In his speech at the beginning of this meeting, Hojjat al-Islam Navvab described the brave punitive response of the men of the Right Front to the Zionist regime as a strategic move and an indication of the authority of the Islamic system in today's world, and considered it a natural and legitimate reaction.

He said: In the combined operation "Wadeh Sadiq", which had no casualties, economic centers were not attacked, but the military bases used by the Zionist regime's fighters in attacking the oppressed people of Gaza and the consulate of our country in Damascus were attacked.

Hojjat al-Islam Navvab stated that the freedom-loving people of the world praised the legitimate move of the Islamic Republic of Iran in defending its rights and punishing the criminal Zionist regime that occupies the land of the Palestinian nation and commits crimes against them.