CAIRO — Iraq announced it will reopen the key Sheeb border crossing with Iran on Tuesday morning, following the completion of necessary technical requirements and security procedures. Concurrently, the country’s Border Ports Authority confirmed that the Mandali border crossing with Iran will be temporarily closed starting Friday for technical assessments.
These border adjustments come amid active diplomatic and economic discussions between Baghdad and Washington. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein recently revealed that the US Treasury had requested 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.
The busy Sheeb border crossing was closed last month to conduct security reviews and install detection equipment to curb smuggling. It remains unclear whether the planned reopening of Sheeb or the temporary closure of Mandali is directly linked to the US Treasury’s demands.
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