Iraq to reopen key border crossing with Iran
Iraq was set to reopen the Sheeb border crossing with Iran on Tuesday morning after completing technical requirements and necessary procedures, the state news agency INA said, quoting the head of the country’s Border Ports Authority.
The authority will temporarily close the Mandali border crossing with Iran from Friday to complete technical requirements, INA reported.
The developments come after Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said that the US Treasury had asked Baghdad to close all border crossings with Iran except for two, as part of Washington’s efforts to increase economic pressure on Tehran.
“There are many official and unofficial border crossings with Iran, and closing all of them would be difficult and would affect our economy. The Americans are still demanding the closure of the crossings, and we are currently in discussions with them,” Hussein told Al Jazeera.
Iraq closed last month the busy Sheeb border crossing with Iran to review security and install detection equipment to stop smuggling.
It was not immediately clear whether the planned reopening of Sheeb or the temporary closure of Mandali was related to the US request.