Iraq border with Iran reopened

IranMania:

Iraqi border-guards Sunday reopened a main border checkpoint with Iran, which they had closed a week ago, the governor of this southwestern Iranian city said. READ MORE

Iraqi border-guards closed the Shalamcheh checkpoint, situated close to the southern Iraqi city of Basra, on Monday on the eve of Arbaeen, which marks the end of mourning by Shias for the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS) in the seventh century in Karbala, IRNA reported.

Khorramshahr Governor Mohammad Ali Shirali stated that cross-border economic activity by Iranian and Iraqi traders resumed following the reopening.

The official cautioned Iranians against visiting Iraq, citing security concerns.

“Only those who hold visas can travel to Iraq through the Shalamcheh border checkpoint, but our advice is that they do not do so because of the security situation in that country,“ he said.

Iraqi border-guards had also consolidated their positions on the other side of the checkpoint ahead of the mourning event, reportedly without coordination with Iranian officials and any explanation.

Most Iranians go on pilgrimage to Iraq, home to the shrines of six Imams revered by the Shiites, including the mausoleums of Imam Ali (AS) in Najaf and Imam Hussein (AS) in Karbala. Iraqi Shiites visit the shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in Mashhad, Iran.

The two Muslim neighbors, with a Shiite majority, have come a long way since the ouster of the former Iraqi dictator Saddam to regulate pilgrimage into their respective cities.

Iraqi officials set up visa requirements for Iranian pilgrims in July, with Iranian officials warning against illegal trips to the war-torn country because of raging conflicts.

Last March, a series of coordinated bombings turned a Shiite mourning ceremony into carnage, in which 171 people were killed in Karbala and Baghdad.

Iraq’s chaotic situation has landed hundreds of Iranians in jail, with their relatives complaining of lack of information about their whereabouts.