Iraqi side has promised to open southern borders after Eid al-Fitr: official

“The Iraqi government has promised to open all Arab borders, including Shalamcheh, Chazabeh, Mehran, and Somar, after Eid al-Fitr,” he told IRNA on Sunday.

He went on to say that there is a request for Iranian goods in Iraq and that even there have been some protests in Basrah regarding the closure of borders with Iran amid the pandemic which has resulted in a lack of commodities in Iraq. 

With the closure of borders in the south, there is mounting pressure on northern borders of Iraqi Kurdistan region, he said, adding that around 2,000 trucks pass the border to Iraqi Kurdistan on a daily basis.

Hosseini pointed to a slump in Iran’s export to Iraq compared to the previous year. “Last year, Iran’s export to Iraq stood at around $9 billion that is $750 million per month but the export in the first month of this year [March 20 to April 19] was around $300 million.”

MAH/IRN 83790264