Iraqi province threatens disobedience over border shutdown
The head of Iraq’s Maysan provincial council has threatened civil disobedience and road blockades if a key border crossing with Iran is not reopened by Thursday.
“We will declare civil disobedience, close all roads and separate the province from the body of Iraq if our demand is not met,” Mustafa Adair Mohammadawi said at a protest rally by truck drivers near the Al-Sheeb crossing, Iraqi media reported.
Mohammadawi said about 4,000 people depended on the crossing for their livelihoods. His threat to separate Maysan from the rest of Iraq was framed as a protest campaign involving civil disobedience and the blocking of roads linking the province to other parts of the country.
The Iraqi government ordered the closure of the Al-Sheeb crossing on October 20 until further notice, prompting protests from truck drivers and businesspeople in Maysan, southern Iraq.
The crossing is known as Chazabeh on the Iranian side, in southwestern Khuzestan Province.
Truck drivers say the closure has damaged employment, trade and the local economy.
Maysan Governor Habib Zahir al-Fartousi has also urged the Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to reopen the crossing, warning that a prolonged shutdown would affect prices, commerce and the movement of patients travelling for medical treatment.
An adviser to Zaidi had blamed the closure on alleged drug smuggling and the entry of counterfeit banknotes from Iran.
Iran’s Embassy in Baghdad vehemently rejected the accusations, warning that they could harm relations between the two neighbors.
On Friday, Zaidi said closing border crossings with Iran would hurt both countries’ economies and could leave Iraq effectively “under an economic siege”.
Land crossings including Chazabeh and Shalamcheh are key routes for Iranian goods entering Iraq, handling millions of tons of cargo.
Iranian media reported on Sunday that most border crossings between the two countries remained operational, with Chazabeh the only crossing that was closed.
The secretary of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce said on Monday that trade between the two countries was continuing and that the closure of Chazabeh would not halt Iranian exports. Any restrictions on Iranian goods entering Iraq would hurt Iraqis before affecting Iran, Jahanbakhsh Sanjabi Shirazi said.
There are about 18 border crossings between Iran and Iraq, seven of them official, while the rest are unofficial or semi-official, Sanjabi Shirazi said. Commercial activity was proceeding at an acceptable level at 15 of the crossings, he added.
The closure of a single crossing, whether temporary or permanent, could disrupt trade for several days as traders and shippers arranged alternative routes for Iranian goods bound for Iraq. But such restrictions would not stop trade between the two countries, he said.
Trade between Iran and Iraq exceeded $10bn in 2025, according to official data, with Iranian exports accounting for most of the total.