Iran Launches New Clinics for Pilgrims in Iraq

Iran’s Red Crescent Society (IRCS) has launched two new clinics in Iraq in a bid to provide medical services to the Iranian pilgrims visiting the Muslim country’s Shiite holy shrines, a medical official announced on Sunday.

“Two new clinics have been inaugurated in Iraq to provide better and more (medical) services to the Iranian pilgrims visiting the Muslim country as the number of visits to the holy Shiite shrines is on the increase,” Soleyman Sadeqi said.

In November, an IRCS official announced that Iranian and Iraqi red crescent societies will build two well-equipped and specialized hospitals in the holy cities of Karbala and Najaf.

“According to a Memorandum of Understanding signed with Iraq’s Red Crescent Society, the Iraqis agreed to supply the land for the construction of a hospital in Karbala which will be specialized in ophthalmology and eye diseases and Iran will be responsible for its construction,” Ali Heydari, an IRCS official, told FNA.

He said that the hospital in Karbala would be constructed in the next 18 months.

Heydari said that the Iranian and Iraqi red crescent societies will also cooperate in the construction of a second hospital in Iraq’s holy city of Najaf which will be specialized in dialyze and kidney diseases.

Iran and Iraq have enjoyed growing ties ever since the overthrow of the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, in 2003.

Both sides are working on a series of plans to take wide strides in expanding their ties, in economic fields in particular.

In July, Iran boosted its power supplies to Iraq and exported 1,139mw of power to its western neighbor.