Three-day deadline triggers Baghdad audit of Maysan council

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi ordered a financial investigation into the Maysan Provincial Council on Monday. The directive followed a threat by council chairman Mustafa Da'ir to institute civil disobedience if the al-Shib border crossing with Iran did not reopen.

Da'ir set a three-day deadline for Baghdad to act. He warned that he would cut Maysan off from the rest of the country if the government failed to meet his demands. Authorities had shut the crossing the previous week to upgrade security and detection equipment, according to an Iraqi official who spoke to Reuters on Wednesday.

Lawmaker Salwan Taha Akreyi of the Kurdistan Democratic Party offered a different account. Told Kurdistan24 that Baghdad closed the site at Washington's request. He said the goal was to limit transit to Iran and block Tehran from strengthening its militias inside Iraq.

Protesters joined the political standoff. Asharq Al-Awsat reported that dozens of demonstrators blocked roads leading to regional oil companies to oppose the closure. The Badr bloc, a Shiite Islamist group, rejected the prime minister's call for an inquiry. The group argued that the closure hurt the local economy and warned that a prolonged dispute could damage relations between Baghdad and the province.

Badr also urged the government to target alleged smuggling through unofficial crossings in the Kurdistan region. The dispute occurs while the Strait of Hormuz remains blockaded, leaving Iran more reliant on land routes through Iraq and Pakistan. Tehran has condemned the closure and rejected claims that the crossing was used to traffic drugs and counterfeit currency.