Iraqi PM probes council after three-day border deadline

Three days. That was the deadline Maysan Provincial Council Chairman Mustafa Da’ir gave Baghdad before his province would sever ties with the rest of Iraq. The ultimatum followed the closure of the al-Shib border crossing with Iran.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi ordered an investigation into the council on Monday in response to Da’ir’s threat of civil disobedience. Iraqi officials and media reports confirmed the move. The council’s chairman warned of unrest if the government did not act quickly.

Authorities closed the crossing last week to upgrade security and detection equipment. An Iraqi official told Reuters on Wednesday that the shutdown was a technical necessity. However, Kurdistan Democratic Party lawmaker Salwan Taha Akreyi told Kurdistan24 that the decision was different. He said Baghdad shut the crossing at Washington’s request to restrict transit to and from Iran and weaken Tehran’s militias in the country.

The closure has sparked local friction. Asharq Al-Awsat reported that dozens of protesters blocked roads leading to oil companies in the region. The Shiite Islamist Badr bloc rejected the prime minister’s call for an inquiry. Shafaq News noted that Badr argued the shutdown was harming the regional economy and warned that a prolonged dispute could damage relations between Baghdad and the province.

The timing of the closure coincides with a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. This blockade has increased Iran’s reliance on land routes through Iraq and Pakistan for shipments. Tehran has strongly condemned the al-Shib closure, rejecting allegations that the crossing was used to traffic drugs and counterfeit currency. Badr also urged the government to fight smuggling through unofficial crossings in the Kurdistan region.