Close all but two of its crossings with Iran — that is what the U.S. Treasury has asked of Iraq, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said Sunday, according to Reuters.
The request, Hussein said, is part of a Washington policy of squeezing Tehran harder economically. One of the two crossings that would stay open is in the Kurdistan region, he said in an interview with Al Jazeera.
“There are many official and unofficial border crossings with Iran, and closing all of them would be difficult and would affect our economy. The Americans are still demanding the closure of the crossings, and we are currently in discussions with them,” Hussein said.
Iraq has already shut one busy crossing. Last month it closed the Sheeb crossing with Iran to review security and install detection equipment meant to stop smuggling, Reuters reported.
Oil exports through Hormuz
In that interview, Hussein said Baghdad and Washington have reached understandings that would let Iraqi oil exports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, using a lane near Oman.
The war and the disruption to Iraq’s oil exports have cost the country $60 billion, he said. He gave no terms for the Hormuz understandings.
The border request lands a day after U.S. Central Command announced Task Force Iron Gate. The small Tampa-based team will work to stop Iran moving advanced weapons, sanctioned materials and illegal revenue across its land borders and the Caspian Sea.
It also comes as Washington and Tehran talk. President Donald Trump told CNN on Sunday the U.S. is “highly unlikely” to attack Iran again while the talks are progressing. The negotiations cover Tehran’s nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
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