US Treasury Wants Iraq to Cut Iran Border Crossings to 2
(MENAFN) Washington has formally asked Baghdad to seal nearly all of Iraq’s border crossings with Iran, a sweeping demand aimed at tightening the economic squeeze on Tehran, Iraq’s top diplomat said.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein disclosed the US Treasury request in an interview with a Qatar-based satellite news channel, broadcast Sunday. Under the American proposal, only two crossings would stay open: one in Iraq’s Kurdish Region and one elsewhere in the country. Hussein said neither had been selected.
He warned that the move would carry a steep price for Iraq itself.
“Closing the border crossings could be a punishment for Iran, but it would also hurt Iraq,” Hussein said. “Trade would stop, movement would stop, and that would affect us economically.”
Talks are ongoing. “The Americans are still asking for the crossings to be closed, and we are in talks with them,” he added.
Key details remain unresolved. Hussein said it was unclear whether the restrictions would target visitors, commercial traffic, or every form of movement across the frontier. The border is Iraq’s longest with any neighbor, he said, and runs from the Kurdish Region in the north to Basra in the south, with both official and unofficial crossings along its length.
The request follows a fresh US military step. On Saturday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced a new task force designed to disrupt Iran’s use of overland routes to move advanced weapons and other materials, widening Washington’s pressure campaign against Tehran.
Billions lost in oil exports
Hussein put the cost of the war so far at roughly $60 billion in lost revenue for Iraq, which could not ship oil through the Strait of Hormuz for about four months after the conflict began. Before the blockage, he said, Iraq exported between 3.3 million and 3.4 million barrels a day.
He also cautioned that fighting in the region could flare up again, and said Baghdad objected to the use of Iraqi soil to launch attacks on neighboring states.
Hussein said Iraq and Iran were conducting a joint investigation into an attack on Saudi Arabia. Information received by Baghdad indicates the strike was launched from inside Iraq, near the Iranian border.
Hussein also addressed efforts to rein in armed factions. The prime minister, he said, has reached understandings with four groups to place their weapons under state control, while talks with two others continue.
“We hope to bring weapons under state control through dialogue and negotiations,” he said.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein disclosed the US Treasury request in an interview with a Qatar-based satellite news channel, broadcast Sunday. Under the American proposal, only two crossings would stay open: one in Iraq’s Kurdish Region and one elsewhere in the country. Hussein said neither had been selected.
He warned that the move would carry a steep price for Iraq itself.
“Closing the border crossings could be a punishment for Iran, but it would also hurt Iraq,” Hussein said. “Trade would stop, movement would stop, and that would affect us economically.”
Talks are ongoing. “The Americans are still asking for the crossings to be closed, and we are in talks with them,” he added.
Key details remain unresolved. Hussein said it was unclear whether the restrictions would target visitors, commercial traffic, or every form of movement across the frontier. The border is Iraq’s longest with any neighbor, he said, and runs from the Kurdish Region in the north to Basra in the south, with both official and unofficial crossings along its length.
The request follows a fresh US military step. On Saturday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced a new task force designed to disrupt Iran’s use of overland routes to move advanced weapons and other materials, widening Washington’s pressure campaign against Tehran.
Billions lost in oil exports
Hussein put the cost of the war so far at roughly $60 billion in lost revenue for Iraq, which could not ship oil through the Strait of Hormuz for about four months after the conflict began. Before the blockage, he said, Iraq exported between 3.3 million and 3.4 million barrels a day.
He also cautioned that fighting in the region could flare up again, and said Baghdad objected to the use of Iraqi soil to launch attacks on neighboring states.
Hussein said Iraq and Iran were conducting a joint investigation into an attack on Saudi Arabia. Information received by Baghdad indicates the strike was launched from inside Iraq, near the Iranian border.
Hussein also addressed efforts to rein in armed factions. The prime minister, he said, has reached understandings with four groups to place their weapons under state control, while talks with two others continue.
“We hope to bring weapons under state control through dialogue and negotiations,” he said.
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