The US Treasury has formally asked Iraq to close all but two of its border crossings with Iran as part of Washington’s efforts to increase economic pressure on Tehran, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told the Qatar-based Al Jazeera channel in an interview aired Sunday.
Hussein said Washington proposed keeping one crossing open in Iraq’s Kurdish Region and another elsewhere in the country. He said the two crossings had yet to be identified.
“Closing the border crossings could be a punishment for Iran, but it would also hurt Iraq,” Hussein said. “Trade would stop, movement would stop, and that would affect us economically.”
“The Americans are still asking for the crossings to be closed, and we are in talks with them,” he added.
Hussein said it remained unclear whether the proposed restrictions would apply to visitors, commercial traffic or all movement across the border.
He said Iraq shares its longest border with Iran, with official and unofficial crossings stretching from the Kurdish Region in the north to Basra in the south.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Saturday announced the establishment of a new task force aimed at disrupting Iran’s use of land routes to transport advanced weapons and other materials, expanding Washington’s pressure on Tehran.
Oil export losses and regional tensions
Hussein estimated that Iraq lost about $60 billion after it was unable to export oil through the Strait of Hormuz for roughly four months at the start of the war.
Before the disruption, he said, Iraq was exporting around 3.3 million to 3.4 million barrels a day.
Hussein also warned that military operations could resume in the region and said Baghdad opposed the use of Iraqi territory to attack neighboring countries.
He said Iraq and Iran were jointly investigating an attack on Saudi Arabia that, according to information received by Baghdad, was launched from inside Iraq near the Iranian border.
On talks with Iraqi armed factions, Hussein said the prime minister had reached understandings with four groups on bringing their weapons under state control, while discussions continued with two others.
“We hope to bring weapons under state control through dialogue and negotiations,” he said.