ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Fifteen Kurdish members of the Iranian parliament announced they will collectively resign if their proposed changes to the law are not made, highlighting that ongoing semi-official border crossing closures are endangering the lives of millions of their constituents.
Jalal Mahmoudzade, speaking on behalf of his 14 other Kurdish parliamentarians on Sunday in Tehran, stated at a press conference they will resign if their demands are not met.
Shopkeepers in Baneh began a strike on April 15 — closing their doors to protest rising costs due to prolonged closure of unofficial border crossings. With the unofficial routes closed, kolbars – cross-border porters — have to use the official borders where they are hit with high customs tariffs.
Mahmoudzade, who is from Mahabad, said millions of Iranians rely on the kolbars, and the restrictions imposed on them have caused financial difficulties.
The three predominately Kurdish provinces of Kermanshah, Kurdistan, and West Azerbaijan are some of the poorest areas of the country, distant from the capital of Tehran.
Mahmoudzade invited Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to parliament to hear their demands.
He added that should the Iranian president be unwilling to go the parliament, they will try to gather petitions in the parliament to vote on Rouhani's incompetency.
Rasoul Khedhri, a Kurdish MP from Piranshar and Zardasht, announced that they have asked Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei to dismantle Rouhani's decision of barring the kolbar routes.
Iran itself is suffering from major economic issues, especially in rural areas. There has also been a sharp drop in the value of the rial versus the US dollar, following a slew of economic sanctions.
Ministers from the Kurdistan Region, including Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, presented a plan to Mohammed Shariatmadari, Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mines and Business, at a conference last week in Erbil.
The four-point plan presented by KRG Planning Minister Ali Sindi, who is also acting trade and industry minister, addresses imports and exports, border crossings, a long-term view by Iran of the Kurdistan Region being a strategic market, and asking for Iran to assist in Baghdad in removing a checkpoint on the Baghdad-Kirkuk road.
Related: Iranian authorities shut down internet over Baneh strikes
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