Protesters in Iraq demand reopening of border crossing with Iran
Protesters gathered at a border crossing in southeastern Iraq on Saturday, demanding its reopening after a 10-day closure that they say has disrupted the livelihoods of thousands of people dependent on cross-border trade.
The protesters included truck and taxi owners and employees of the al-Shaib crossing in Maysan Province. They said the closure had cut off their income and halted business activity linked to border trade, Fars news agency reported.
The demonstration followed several protests by truck drivers in recent days. On Friday, dozens of drivers gathered outside the crossing in their third protest in less than a week, Iraqi news outlet Al-Maalomah reported. The drivers said hundreds of trucks relied directly on the crossing for their operations.
Earlier, on October 25, protesters blocked a road from the Bazargan area toward oil companies and reported rising fruit and vegetable prices in Maysan markets following the border closure.
On October 28, drivers also gathered outside the provincial governor’s office, saying they had been protesting for about nine days. They said transferring their operations to the Shalamcheh crossing was not a viable option because it would increase transport costs for both businesses and consumers.
The Iraqi government decided on October 20 to close al-Shaib until further notice, with the measure taking effect on October 21. Baghdad said the crossing lacked the technical, technological and logistical readiness needed to continue operating and that it was working to complete infrastructure and control systems.
The closure followed an earlier suspension of activity at al-Shaib, Shalamcheh and Mandali crossings on September 12, after a drone attack on Saudi oil infrastructure was alleged to have originated from Iraqi territory. Trade resumed at most crossings after security reviews, including at al-Shaib on September 17, but the crossing was shut again several weeks later.
Al-Shaib, known as Chazabeh on the Iranian side, is an important land trade route between Iran and Iraq. Local Maysan officials say about 4,000 people depend on it directly or indirectly for their livelihoods.
Some cargo can be diverted to alternative crossings, including Shalamcheh, Zurbatiyah-Mehran, Mandali-Khosravi, Somar, Bashmaq and Parviz Khan. But rerouting shipments does not fully offset the disruption, as it increases travel distances and costs for businesses in Maysan.
The impact of the closure comes amid substantial trade between the two countries. Figures from the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce put bilateral trade at about $12 billion last year, including more than $10.2 billion in Iranian exports to Iraq. Another estimate puts the value of bilateral trade in 2024 at about $12.5 billion.