Baghdad Probes Maysan Over Border Dispute

The closure of the al-Shib crossing with Iran has triggered a political crisis in eastern Iraq. Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi ordered an investigation into the Maysan Provincial Council on Monday.

The probe follows a threat from council chairman Mustafa Da'ir. Da'ir warned that his province would engage in civil disobedience if Baghdad did not reopen the site. He gave the central government a three-day deadline before he would escalate the confrontation.

Authorities shut the crossing last week. An Iraqi official told Reuters that the pause allows for upgrades to security and detection equipment. However, Salwan Taha Akreyi, a lawmaker from the Kurdistan Democratic Party, offered a different account. He told Kurdistan24 that Washington requested the closure to limit transit to Iran and hinder Tehran’s ability to supply militias.

Protests have accompanied the standoff. Asharq Al-Awsat reported that dozens of demonstrators blocked roads leading to oil companies in the region. The Badr bloc, a Shiite Islamist group, rejected the prime minister’s call for a probe. Shafaq News reported that the group argued the closure was harming the local economy and warned that a prolonged dispute could strain relations between Baghdad and the province.

Badr also urged the government to crack down on alleged smuggling through unofficial crossings in the Kurdistan region. The regional dispute occurs while the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz forces Iran to rely on land routes through Iraq and Pakistan for its shipments. Tehran has condemned the closure of al-Shib and rejected claims that the site trafficked drugs and counterfeit currency.