TEHRAN (Press TV)--Iraq has agreed to release 53 Iranian pilgrims who had earlier crossed the borders illegally to visit the holy shrines in the neighboring country.

Some 53 Iranian nationals held in Iraq prisons will return home, the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad announced on Monday. The announcement came after a meeting organized between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq's foreign ministry officials in Tehran.
Iranian pilgrims who left Iran for a pilgrimage to the holy sites were detained by Iraqi police forces. Iranian officials had also frequented to Baghdad to finalize talks over the freedom of the pilgrims held in Iraqi jails. They were sentenced to 2-4 year in prison for entering Iraq illegally, the source said.
The detainees will be handed over to the Iranian guards at Mehran border city. The Iranian authorities have repeatedly issued warnings for the citizens against illegal visits to the holy sites in Iraq.