“According to our investigations, the Iraqi government, in coordination with Kurdistan Region officials has closed these borders. We were not informed of this in advance,” Kaywan Kashifi, the head of the Chamber of Conference in Kermanshah said, urging local businessmen to move their activities to Parviz-Khan and Sumar.
He claimed that closing down these crossings will affect the living conditions of local people on the border.
In addition to the crossings of Sheikh Saleh in Salase Bawajane and Shushme in Pawa, the Iraqi government recently closed down Tilako in Sarpol-e Zahab, Qasma Rash, and Kele in Sardasht, Hal Alawa in Mariwan, and Sayran-Ban in Bana.
The local governor and Iranian consuls in Erbil and Sulaimani are engaged in negotiations to reopen the crossings.
Sulaimani Governor Haval Abubakir told Rudaw that the border crossings have been re-opened conditionally. They will be operational for 72 hours while the local government in Sulaimani together with the KRG Ministry of Interior holds talks with Iraqi authorities to try and reverse the closure decision.
Authorities agreed to reopen the border crossings temporarily on condition that a quality control office ensured goods exchanged at the locations meet standards in line with customs regulations that govern official crossings, he explained.
According to the Iranian consul general in Erbil, the Iraqi border patrol guards gave 72 hours of notice to businessmen in these seven ports to finish selling their goods and the ultimatum expired at 8 a.m. on Monday.
There was no immediate statement from the KRG regarding the closures.
An Iraqi delegation from 10 different Iraqi ministries visited Kele and Sayran-Ban border crossings in January.
“Our committee has come to investigate the border crossing to be informed about the economic, customs and other infrastructural aspects of it. For the sake of increasing incomes we will send a report to a supreme committee and eventually the decision rests with the central government,” Shakir al-Jabouri, the head of the Iraqi delegation, told Rudaw at the time of the visit.
The KRG and Iran have both expressed a desire for increased business ties. KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in late January.
“It was stressed that necessary measures should be taken in order to enhance trade volumes and investments from both sides in order to reflect the historical relationship between the Kurdistan Region and Iran,” Barzani said after the visit.
The Iranian consulate general in Sulaimani revealed plans last month for a “nearly half a billion dollar” bilateral project to increase steel imports from the Kurdistan Province in Iran to the Kurdistan Region.
