Al-Zaidi orders review of Maysan council after border dispute

Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi directed an investigation into the Maysan Provincial Council on Monday. The order followed a warning from council chairman Mustafa Da'ir that he would initiate civil disobedience if the al-Shib border crossing with Iran remained closed.

Officials stated that authorities closed the crossing the previous week to upgrade security and detection equipment. Salwan Taha Akreyi, a lawmaker from the Kurdistan Democratic Party, offered a different account. He told Kurdistan24 that Washington requested the shutdown to limit transit and block Tehran's efforts to strengthen its militias in Iraq.

Da'ir set a three-day deadline for Baghdad to reopen the site. He threatened to cut the province off from the rest of the country if the government did not act. Dozens of protesters supported the demand by blocking roads leading to regional oil companies, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.

The Badr bloc, an Iraqi Shiite Islamist group, rejected the prime minister's call for an inquiry. Shafaq News reported that the group argued the closure was harming the local economy. They warned that a prolonged dispute could damage relations between Baghdad and the province. The bloc also urged the government to target smuggling through unofficial crossings in the Kurdistan region.

The standoff occurs while a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz increases Iran's reliance on land routes through Iraq and Pakistan. Tehran has condemned the closure of the al-Shib crossing and rejected claims that it was used to traffic drugs and counterfeit currency.