Iraq Reopens Shib Crossing After 3 Weeks, Shuts Mandali
(MENAFN) Iraq reopened its Shib border crossing with Iran to travelers and cargo on Tuesday, ending a three-week shutdown, but said it will close the Mandali crossing from Friday for maintenance.
Omar al-Waeli, head of Iraq’s Border Ports Authority, said in a statement carried by the official state news agency that Shib resumed operations at 8 a.m. local time (0500GMT) once technical requirements and procedures were completed.
Mandali will shut at 8 a.m. local time (0500GMT) on Friday so crews can finish preparations and maintenance ahead of the rainy season, he said. Wet weather could disrupt vehicle movement inside the crossing, making the work necessary, he added.
The authority gave no timeline for Mandali’s closure and said it would announce a reopening date once the work is done.
Shib sits in Maysan province in southeastern Iraq and links to the Chazabeh crossing in Iran’s Khuzestan province. Mandali is in Iraq’s eastern Diyala province.
On Oct. 21, government spokesman Haider al-Abboudi blamed Shib’s closure on a lack of technical readiness and said trade with Iran was still moving through other crossings.
Shib had also been shut in September under measures that Iraq’s Security Media Cell said were meant to reorganize border operations and investigate violations at crossing points. At that time, the Zurbatiyah and Al-Mundhiriyah crossings stayed open to travelers, until Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered that stranded passengers be allowed through Shib and Shalamcheh.
Al-Zaidi recently traveled to Iran to discuss easing regional tensions, Iraq’s ambassador to Tehran, Yasser Abdul Zahra al-Hajjaj, said Monday. Al-Hajjaj told the state news agency the trip was “private and unannounced.”
The Border Ports Authority credited Shib’s reopening to the completion of technical procedures and did not tie the move to the prime minister’s visit.
Separately, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said Sunday in an interview with a Qatar-based satellite broadcaster that the US Treasury Department had asked Baghdad to close all border crossings with Iran except two. He said Iraq is still holding talks with Washington on the request and warned that complying would hurt the Iraqi economy.
Omar al-Waeli, head of Iraq’s Border Ports Authority, said in a statement carried by the official state news agency that Shib resumed operations at 8 a.m. local time (0500GMT) once technical requirements and procedures were completed.
Mandali will shut at 8 a.m. local time (0500GMT) on Friday so crews can finish preparations and maintenance ahead of the rainy season, he said. Wet weather could disrupt vehicle movement inside the crossing, making the work necessary, he added.
The authority gave no timeline for Mandali’s closure and said it would announce a reopening date once the work is done.
Shib sits in Maysan province in southeastern Iraq and links to the Chazabeh crossing in Iran’s Khuzestan province. Mandali is in Iraq’s eastern Diyala province.
On Oct. 21, government spokesman Haider al-Abboudi blamed Shib’s closure on a lack of technical readiness and said trade with Iran was still moving through other crossings.
Shib had also been shut in September under measures that Iraq’s Security Media Cell said were meant to reorganize border operations and investigate violations at crossing points. At that time, the Zurbatiyah and Al-Mundhiriyah crossings stayed open to travelers, until Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered that stranded passengers be allowed through Shib and Shalamcheh.
Al-Zaidi recently traveled to Iran to discuss easing regional tensions, Iraq’s ambassador to Tehran, Yasser Abdul Zahra al-Hajjaj, said Monday. Al-Hajjaj told the state news agency the trip was “private and unannounced.”
The Border Ports Authority credited Shib’s reopening to the completion of technical procedures and did not tie the move to the prime minister’s visit.
Separately, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said Sunday in an interview with a Qatar-based satellite broadcaster that the US Treasury Department had asked Baghdad to close all border crossings with Iran except two. He said Iraq is still holding talks with Washington on the request and warned that complying would hurt the Iraqi economy.
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