Iraq to Reopen Sheeb Border Crossing with Iran, Temporarily Close Mandali Border

Iraq will reopen the Sheeb border crossing with Iran ​on Tuesday morning after completing technical ‌requirements and necessary procedures, the head of the country's Border Ports Authority said, according to state news agency ​INA. 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. - Reuters