Pro-Iranian groups operating in Georgia have announced annual religious processions in Tbilisi’s Ponichala district and Marneuli in the coming days. Similar events have previously drawn attention over anti-American and anti-Israeli slogans and posters glorifying Iran’s supreme leader.
The first procession, scheduled for July 23, was announced by the Ahl al-Bayt Mosque in Ponichala. According to a notice published on Facebook, the march commemorating Imam Hussein will begin in the mosque courtyard at 10:30 a.m.
The Ponichala mosque is affiliated with the Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly, an organization supported by the Iranian regime and described by some Western researchers as a cover for Iranian intelligence activity. A recent Hudson Institute report identified the mosque as an important part of a broader pro-Iranian influence network in Georgia and said it frequently hosts anti-American and pro-Iranian sermons.
The annual Tasua procession in Marneuli is scheduled for July 24, the ninth day of Muharram, and has been announced by the Imam Ali Mosque.
At last year’s procession, participants carried posters of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while a vehicle at the front of the march displayed his portrait alongside the words: “His Eminence Ayatollah Khamenei, leader of the world’s oppressed and voice of freedom.” A religious song was also recently performed inside the Marneuli mosque in front of a similar poster.
The Marneuli event is again being organized by the openly Tehran-linked Ahl al-Bayt organization. Its chairman, cleric Rasim Mamedov, also leads the Ahl al-Bayt Mosque in Ponichala. Reports have alleged that his organization has ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
According to the Hudson Institute report, Mamedov has since 2019 been included on a US flight-restriction list administered in connection with security and terrorism-related risk assessments.
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