Iraq's PM probes Maysan council after border standoff

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi ordered an inquiry into the Maysan Provincial Council on Monday. The directive comes after the council's chairman, Mustafa Da'ir, threatened to declare civil disobedience if the central government did not reopen the al-Shib border crossing with Iran.

Baghdad shut the crossing last week. An Iraqi official told Reuters on Wednesday that authorities closed the site to install new security and detection equipment. However, Salwan Taha Akreyi, a lawmaker from the Kurdistan Democratic Party, offered a different account. He told Kurdistan24 that Washington requested the closure to limit transit to and from Iran and to block Tehran's efforts to strengthen its militias inside Iraq.

Da'ir responded to the shutdown by warning he would isolate the province from the rest of the country. He set a three-day deadline for Baghdad to act before he would escalate his response. Asharq Al-Awsat reported that dozens of protesters blocked roads leading to regional oil companies to voice their opposition to the closure.

The Badr bloc, an Iraqi Shiite Islamist group, rejected the prime minister's call for an investigation. Shafaq News reported that the group argued the closure was damaging the regional economy. It warned that a prolonged dispute could harm relations between Baghdad and the province. The bloc also urged the government to increase efforts against alleged smuggling through unofficial crossings in the Kurdistan region.

The standoff occurs while the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has made Iran more dependent on land routes through Iraq and Pakistan for shipments. Tehran has strongly condemned the closure of the al-Shib crossing. The Iranian government rejected allegations that the site had been used to traffic drugs and counterfeit currency.