The Iraqi authorities have decreed the closure, for "technical reasons" and "until further notice," of the southeastern border crossing of Al Shaib, located in the governorate of Maysan opposite the Iranian province of Khuzestan. The decision is made a little more than a month after the dismissal of the provincial police commander, after admitting that the attack on the Saudi East-West pipeline, the main alternative conduit to the Strait of Hormuz for the export of Saudi crude, was carried out from this area.
"Government directives have arrived from the capital, Baghdad, to close the crossing located east of the Maysan governorate starting at 6:00 AM (local time) on Wednesday, until further notice," an informed source from the Maysan Council declared to the Iraqi agency Shafaq, the same source added that the closure is due to "technical reasons," without specifying the nature of these reasons or the expected duration of the closure.
The closure of the crossing has also been corroborated by a source from the Iraqi Executive to the national agency NINA. This confirmation comes after the directive issued on September 12 by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, which ordered the closure of several border crossings with Iran, including Al Shaib, following reports pointing to Tehran's involvement in drone attacks launched from Iraqi territory against the East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia.
In new statements to the Shafaq agency, the aforementioned source linked the closure of these crossings to the alleged transfer from Iran to Iraq of materials, weapons, and equipment intended for the manufacture of drones used to attack infrastructure in Saudi territory.
In this context, the Government of Iraq relieved the commander of the police in the province of Maysan from his position, after acknowledging that the launch of the attack on the East-West pipeline occurred from this region, through which the key alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz for the transport of Saudi oil runs.
Then, the Iraqi pro-Iranian militia Kataib Hezbollah denied any involvement in the attack on Saudi soil and expressed its willingness to cooperate in the investigation initiated in this regard. "It is an honor that we cannot claim," the group stated before criticizing the Iraqi government for accepting accusations "without reliable evidence or a concrete investigation."