US economic sanctions on Iran are stemming the flow of religious tourists to neighboring Iraq, even as the Muslim holy month of Muharram has already begun on Sept. 11. Also approaching is Ashura, the Shiite commemoration of the death of Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, on Sept. 20.

Officials say the number of Iranian religious tourists traveling to Iraq has fallen significantly because of the penalties against Tehran, which Washington reinstated Aug. 7.

The hardship on Iranian pilgrims is made even worse because Iraq has denied Iran’s request to waive the visa fee for during Muharram. Morteza Aqaei, who is in charge of religious tourism in Iran, said Sept. 10 that all pilgrims must pay the $40 visa fee in full prior to travel. The fee will be payable in Iraqi dinars this year, as Iraq is abiding by the US sanctions against trading with Iran using the dollar.

Ali Hussein is a hotelier in Karbala, the city where Muhammad's grandson was killed in the year 680 in what is now Iraq. The hotelier fears the sanctions are already taking their toll on the flow of Iranian pilgrims to this holy city. He told Al-Monitor, “We await hundreds of thousands of visitors to spend weeks and months in the city every year. The signs, however, point at a dramatic decline in the number of visitors.”