Sea passenger route for Arbaeen pilgrims between Khorramshahr and Basra opens on Tuesday

The acting head of the maritime affairs division at Iran's Ports and Maritime Organisation said on Tuesday 28 July 2026 that sea travel for Arbaeen pilgrims between Iran and Iraq began that day. The route runs from Khorramshahr to Basra.

Opening the sea route is one of the options for adding capacity alongside the land borders and flights. On the same day the Civil Aviation Organisation said Arbaeen flight tickets would be released in stages, and that the absence of tickets in the system did not mean capacity was full or sales had stopped, while the state railway said advance sales of passenger train tickets for the period 8 to 22 August would begin at 08:30 on Wednesday 29 July.

Arbaeen travel is one of the largest seasonal movements of passengers in Iran and affects transport demand, border services and cross border trade with Iraq.