US asks Iraq to shut most Iran border crossings, Iraqi foreign minister says

The US Treasury has asked Iraq to close all border crossings with Iran except for two as part of Washington’s policy of increasing economic pressure on Tehran, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said in an interview with Al-Jazeera.

One of the exceptions is in the Kurdistan region.

“There are many official and unofficial border crossings with Iran, and closing all of them would be difficult and would affect our economy. The Americans are still demanding the closure of the crossings, and we are currently in discussions with them,” Hussein said.

Last month, Iraq closed the busy Sheeb border crossing with Iran to review security and install detection equipment to stop smuggling.