SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – Border crossings between Sulaimani province and Iran will reopen on Wednesday, a week and a half after they were shut by Iran.
The border crossings will be open for both travel and trade, Sirwan Mohammed, head Sulaimani’s Chamber of Commerce, told Rudaw.
There are two crossings between Sulaimani and Iran: Parviz-Khan and Bashmakh. The mayor of Mariwan, on the Iranian side of the Bashmakh border, has confirmed that crossing will be open on Wednesday, according to local media reports.
The Iranian consulate in Erbil said the border crossings were being reopened at the request of the Sulaimani Provincial Council and families of the victims of the Halabja chemical attack.
Earlier in the day, the head of the Sulaimani Provincial Council, Azad Mohammed Amin, told reporters that they had made such a request of the Iranians.
A third border point connects Erbil province with Iran at Haji Omaran. There are no reports that it will also be reopened.
Iran closed all three border crossings on October 15 under order from Tehran, though semi-official crossings such as Halabja’s Tawela gate were still functioning.
Tehran has condemned Kurdistan’s independence referendum and has stated it will coordinate with Baghdad to take measures against the Kurdistan Region. Iran was the first country to close its airspace to flights in and out of the Region the day before the September 25 referendum at the request of Baghdad.
Iranian military officials have advised Iraqi Shiite forces as they took control of the disputed areas from Kurdish forces last week.
Iranian officials have described Kurdistan’s independence bid as an American-Zionist plot to create a new Israel.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is expected to visit Tehran on Wednesday for meetings with Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani.
Updated at 11:08pm
The border crossings will be open for both travel and trade, Sirwan Mohammed, head Sulaimani’s Chamber of Commerce, told Rudaw.
There are two crossings between Sulaimani and Iran: Parviz-Khan and Bashmakh. The mayor of Mariwan, on the Iranian side of the Bashmakh border, has confirmed that crossing will be open on Wednesday, according to local media reports.
The Iranian consulate in Erbil said the border crossings were being reopened at the request of the Sulaimani Provincial Council and families of the victims of the Halabja chemical attack.
Earlier in the day, the head of the Sulaimani Provincial Council, Azad Mohammed Amin, told reporters that they had made such a request of the Iranians.
A third border point connects Erbil province with Iran at Haji Omaran. There are no reports that it will also be reopened.
Iran closed all three border crossings on October 15 under order from Tehran, though semi-official crossings such as Halabja’s Tawela gate were still functioning.
Tehran has condemned Kurdistan’s independence referendum and has stated it will coordinate with Baghdad to take measures against the Kurdistan Region. Iran was the first country to close its airspace to flights in and out of the Region the day before the September 25 referendum at the request of Baghdad.
Iranian military officials have advised Iraqi Shiite forces as they took control of the disputed areas from Kurdish forces last week.
Iranian officials have described Kurdistan’s independence bid as an American-Zionist plot to create a new Israel.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is expected to visit Tehran on Wednesday for meetings with Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani.
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