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2026 FIFA World Cup
24MAR

Iraq shuts three Iranian crossings and the flights

2 min read
19:01UTC

Iraq closed the Shalamcheh, al-Shaib and Mandali crossings with Iran and suspended flights to the country, after launch sites for the drones that hit the Saudi pipeline were found near them.

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Iraq closed three border crossings with Iran, Shalamcheh in Basra, al-Shaib in Maysan and Mandali in Diyala, and suspended flights to Iran, after launch sites for the drones that struck the Saudi pipeline were found near them⁠1⁠2. No source dates the decision, and the government has not published one.

The Israel Defence Forces struck Shalamcheh on 5 April, describing it as a logistics corridor connecting Iranian supply lines to Iraqi territory, so the point Baghdad has now shut is the same point an outside air force judged worth bombing. Closing it costs Iraqi trade as much as it costs Iranian supply, and Baghdad has not said how long the closure runs.

The flight suspension reaches less far than the closures. Iraq closed its national airspace outright early in the war, extending the shutdown by 72 hours in March; this order stops traffic to one country. Baghdad has aimed both instruments at the border the drones came from, which is also the border its own economy depends on.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Iraq and Iran share a long land border with a handful of official crossing points where lorries, buses and pilgrims pass through. After drones launched from Iraqi soil hit a Saudi oil pipeline, Iraq shut three of those crossings and stopped flights to Iran. The three are Shalamcheh in the south near Basra, al-Shaib in Maysan province, and Mandali further north in Diyala. The closures do not stop drones, which are launched from open ground rather than from border posts. They stop ordinary traffic, which is Baghdad's way of showing Iran and Saudi Arabia that it is doing something.

Deep Analysis
Root Causes

A border crossing is a formal point on a line that runs for hundreds of kilometres. Lorries, buses and pilgrims use it because the alternative is illegal; a drone launched from open ground near it uses nothing.

So the instrument and the problem do not match. Closing Shalamcheh, al-Shaib and Mandali stops trade and travel, and removes no launch capability from the province the drones came from.

The closure reaches the relationship instead. Iraq's land links to Iran are the part of the connection Baghdad controls outright, and shutting them is the loudest thing an Iraqi government can do to Tehran without a shot being fired.

What could happen next?
  • Consequence

    Iraqi importers who move goods through Shalamcheh and Mandali lost their route with no notice and no published end date at the time of the order.

    Immediate · Assessed
  • Meaning

    Baghdad reached for the one lever over Tehran that it controls outright, which is the land connection rather than anything military.

    Immediate · Assessed
  • Risk

    Two of the three crossings sit outside the province the launches were traced to, which leaves the order open to being read as a gesture rather than a security measure.

    Short term · Suggested
Sources:Al Jazeera·Middle East Monitor
Mentions:Israel Defense Forces (IDF) →Iraq →Iran →al-Shalamcheh border crossing →Basra →Al Jazeera →Israel →Baghdad →Saudi Arabia →
First Reported In

Update #178 · Saudi bypass hit, and Riyadh holds fire

Al Jazeera· 13 Sept 2026
Read original →
Causes and effects
Caused by
Drones hit the pipeline built to dodge Hormuz
Iraq closed three Iranian crossings after launch sites were found near them.
Occurred 10 Sept 2026
Read story →
This Event
Iraq shuts three Iranian crossings and the flights
Baghdad cut its own land and air links with Iran after tracing the drone launch sites to Iraqi soil.
Led to
Iraq reopens Iranian border crossings in stages
The phased reopening undid the closures within three days.
Occurred 13 Sept 2026
Read story →
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