Iraq’s Badr bloc demands reopening of border crossings with Iran
Iraq’s Badr parliamentary bloc called for all border crossings with Iran to reopen after Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said the United States had formally requested that Iraq close all but two. The bloc criticized compliance with what it called American dictates and argued that continued closures harm Iraqis’ economic interests and infringe Iraqi sovereignty. Iraq’s government had previously attributed the Chazabeh–Al-Sheeb crossing closure solely to technical and logistical reasons.