US Treasury Wants Iraq to Cut Iran Border Crossings to 2

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Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein disclosed the US Treasury request in an interview with a Qatar-based satellite news channel, broadcast Sunday. Under the American proposal, only two crossings would stay open: one in Iraq’s Kurdish Region and one elsewhere in the country. Hussein said neither had been selected.

He warned that the move would carry a steep price for Iraq itself.

“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.”

Talks are ongoing. “The Americans are still asking for the crossings to be closed, and we are in talks with them,” he added.

Key details remain unresolved. Hussein said it was unclear whether the restrictions would target visitors, commercial traffic, or every form of movement across the frontier. The border is Iraq’s longest with any neighbor, he said, and runs from the Kurdish Region in the north to Basra in the south, with both official and unofficial crossings along its length.

The request follows a fresh US military step. On Saturday, US Central Command (CENTCOM...