ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi interior ministry has ordered an investigation into the actions of a border official after a video surfaced on social media showing him allowing an Iranian tourist to stamp her own passport upon entry - a move the ministry censured as a severe violation of regulations.
"The Senior Deputy Minister of Interior, Dr. Hussein al-Awadi, has ordered the formation of an investigative board against a ministry employee at the Zurbatiya border crossing [Mehran on the Iranian side]," the ministry announced Sunday, noting that this decision "follows the employee's appearance in a video circulating on social media, in which he is seen allowing an [Iranian] woman to stamp her own entry visa into Iraqi territory, in violation of applicable regulations and directives."
The video, which sparked controversy across Iraq, shows an officer at the crossing on the Iran-Iraq border handing his official stamp to the Iranian visitor - reportedly a social media influencer - who then stamps her own passport.
The interior ministry stressed the "need to take deterrent legal measures against anyone negligent in performing their security duties."
The incident coincided with the ongoing Arbaeen mourning processions, during which millions of religious visitors from Iraq and abroad - including Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Turkey - are taking part in an 80-kilometer walk between the shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala.
Major General Saad Maan, head of the Iraqi Security Media Cell (SMC), the media arm of the Baghdad Operations Command, told Rudaw's Gashaw Khalid on Saturday that “4,435,492 foreign pilgrims from 172 countries have entered Iraq so far.”
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