Al-Zaidi orders audit of Maysan council after border standoff

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi ordered a financial investigation into the Maysan Provincial Council on Monday. The directive came after the council’s chairman, Mustafa Da’ir, threatened civil disobedience over the closure of the al-Shib border crossing with Iran.

Da’ir gave Baghdad a three-day deadline to reopen the site before he would cut the province off from the rest of the country. He warned of escalating unrest if the deadline passed. Dozens of protesters in the region have already blocked roads leading to oil companies to voice their opposition to the shutdown.

The crossing was closed last week. An Iraqi official told Reuters on Wednesday that the pause was intended to upgrade security and detection equipment. Salwan Taha Akreyi, a lawmaker from the Kurdistan Democratic Party, offered a different account to Kurdistan24. He said Washington requested the closure to limit transit to and from Iran and block Tehran’s efforts to strengthen its militias in Iraq.

The Badr bloc, an Iraqi Shiite Islamist group, reportedly rejected the prime minister’s call for a probe. Shafaq News reported that the group argued the closure was hurting the regional economy. Badr also warned that a prolonged dispute risked damaging relations between Baghdad and Maysan. The bloc urged the government to step up efforts against alleged smuggling through unofficial crossings in the Kurdistan region.

The standoff has intensified as the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has left Iran more dependent on land routes through Iraq and Pakistan. Tehran has strongly condemned the closure of the al-Shib crossing. It also rejected allegations that the site had been used to traffic drugs and counterfeit currency.