Iran Roads Organization: The Somar border crossing will be temporarily closed starting tomorrow.
Iran's Roads Organization says the Sumez border crossing will be temporarily closed starting tomorrow (Friday, November 13).
According to reports in the Iranian media, the closing of this border "was put on the agenda following diplomatic correspondence from the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Baghdad." The Iranian Roads Organization did not specify any further details about this and it is not known how long this border will be closed.
The Sumar border crossing is in western Iran in Kermansha province and on the common border between Iran and Iraq. Fawad Hossein, Iraq's foreign minister, said on November 8 that the US Treasury Department demanded from Baghdad, as part of Washington's policy to increase economic pressure on Tehran, to block all but two border crossings with Iran.
He told Al Jazeera that one of the two crossings that will remain open is in the Kurdistan Region. Mr. Hossein, who pointed out that "there are many official and unofficial crossings between Iraq and Iran," said: "It will be difficult to close them all and it will affect the Iraqi economy." "The Americans still insist on closing these crossings and we are currently negotiating with them."
Earlier, Iraq also blocked the Hezba border crossing, which is one of the busiest trade routes between the two countries.
It was said that this measure is temporary and its purpose is to check security measures and install testing equipment to prevent smuggling.