Iraq shuts 3 border crossings with Iran after Saudi pipeline drone att∆ck

Iraq shuts 3 border crossings with Iran after Saudi pipeline drone attack

Iraq has closed three border crossings with Iran following a drone attack on a Saudi Arabian pipeline that Riyadh and Baghdad said was launched from Iraqi territory.

The crossings were shut on Saturday, a day after the attack, as Iraqi authorities intensified efforts to identify those responsible and prevent the perpetrators from fleeing the country.

Following the Friday night attack, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi dismissed the military commander in Missan province, which borders Iran, after authorities determined that the drones had been launched from the area.

Two Iraqi security sources said drone launchers were discovered near a border crossing in Missan on Saturday.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, an alliance of powerful Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups denied carrying out the strike, despite previous accusations by Saudi Arabia that such groups had targeted its oil infrastructure.

Three crossings shut

An Iraqi security source and a government official said authorities ordered the closure of three border crossings with Iran as part of the investigation.

The security source said the decision was “part of an intelligence effort to track down the perpetrators and prevent their escape… and to hinder the smuggling of drones through these crossings”.

The sources, who spoke anonymously because they were not authorised to speak to the media, could not say when the crossings would reopen.

The affected crossings are Shalamsheh in Basra province, al-Shib in Missan and al-Mandali in the central province of Diyala.

Other border crossings between Iraq and Iran remain open.

Drone launchers reportedly found

A security official said security forces discovered drone launchers near the Iraq-Iran border in the al-Tib region, a remote part of Missan close to the al-Shib crossing.

A second security source confirmed the discovery.

The development has increased pressure on Iraqi authorities to determine how the drones were launched and whether armed groups operating inside the country were involved in the attack.

Zaidi’s military spokesperson, Sabah al-Numan, said the prime minister had approved “Iran’s request to conduct a joint investigation into finding drone launch platforms near the Iraq-Iran border”.

Iraq’s security media cell had earlier announced that authorities had begun “administrative and security reorganisation operations at several border crossings”.

It said intelligence activities had also been intensified to determine “the breaches and violations that took place at these crossings”.

The authorities later announced that passengers who had been stranded for hours at two of the crossings were allowed to continue their journeys.

Iran-backed groups deny involvement

The incident comes amid heightened regional tensions involving Iran and its allies.

In July, the United States and Saudi Arabia said they had carried out strikes against Iran-backed militants in Iraq in response to attacks on US forces and Saudi oil facilities.

Pro-Iran armed groups have supported Tehran during the Middle East conflict and have claimed responsibility for hundreds of attacks on US bases in Iraq and other parts of the region.

On Saturday, the groups operating under the umbrella of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq denied responsibility for the latest pipeline attack.

“It is an honour that we do not claim,” the Islamic Resistance said in a statement.

The denial came as Iraqi authorities continued their investigation into the attack and the alleged use of Iraqi territory to launch the drones.

Pressure mounts on Iraqi government

The incident is likely to add to pressure on Zaidi’s government as it attempts to assert state control over armed factions operating in Iraq.

Under mounting pressure from the United States, Zaidi has pledged to ensure that armed factions surrender their weapons to the state.

The issue has contributed to rising tensions in recent weeks, with several armed groups refusing to disarm.

The closure of the three crossings and the discovery of drone launchers near the Iranian border are expected to form part of the authorities’ wider efforts to establish how the attack was carried out and identify those responsible.