Speaking to reporters on Thursday night, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said around 400,000 pilgrims have returned from Iraq so far, calling on the others not to flock into the border crossings immediately after end of Arbaeen, which falls on Sunday.
He also noted that Iranians can still travel to Iraq by plane or by land through Shalamcheh and Chazzabeh border crossings, saying Mehran border crossing has been closed by the Iraqi government since Thursday morning.
Heavy traffic on the Iraqi roads, together with the presence of Iranian pilgrims without a visa that caused a crowd disorder at Mehran border crossing, made Iraqi officials close it temporarily, the minister explained.