ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi government on Sunday announced the reopening of three border crossings with Iran, days after they were temporarily closed as a precautionary measure following a drone attack launched from Iraqi territory on a key Saudi oil pipeline.
Reuters reported on Saturday that Iraq had closed the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran as a precautionary measure after Baghdad confirmed that drones targeting Saudi Arabia's vital East-West pipeline last week had been launched from Iraq.
Iraq's Security Media Cell said in a statement on Sunday that "following a review of the operations of the border crossings and an assessment of their organizational and technical requirements," authorities had decided to gradually reopen the Shalamcheh, Mandali and al-Shaib crossings with Iran over the coming days.
The statement stressed that "cross-border movement and trade with the Iranian side have not stopped" through other border crossings.
On Friday, Saudi Arabia said drones launched from Iraq had struck its East-West oil pipeline, causing casualties and damage. Baghdad condemned the attack and confirmed that the drones had been launched from Maysan province.
Riyadh said it had decided not to respond "at this stage" to support Baghdad's efforts to prevent further attacks on the neighboring kingdom.
As part of the measures taken following the attack, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi dismissed the commander of the Maysan Operations Command and ordered tighter regulation of movements at border crossings.
Iraq and Iran on Saturday agreed to conduct a joint investigation into the drone attack.
Although Baghdad has not blamed any party for the attack, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), an umbrella group of Iran-aligned factions with links to elements of the state-sponsored Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), denied involvement on Saturday, describing the accusations against it as “an honor we do not claim.”
The group criticized Baghdad for what it called its “rush to endorse these allegations without relying on credible evidence or concrete investigations.”
The IRI sided with Tehran during its six-week war with the United States and Israel earlier this year and claimed hundreds of attacks on US forces and other targets across the region.
Iraq has repeatedly sought to prevent its territory from being drawn into regional confrontations involving Iran-aligned armed factions. The latest incident marks a rare acknowledgment by Baghdad that Iraqi territory was used as a launchpad for an attack on a neighboring country.
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