Iraq reopens 2 border crossings to help boost battered Iranian economy
Two of five Iranian-Iraqi border crossings reopen for both goods and individuals, to the benefit of Iran's sanctions- and coronavirus-hit economy, and of Iraqis in the south and in the KRG-run north.
BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi received a phone call from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani May 11 asking him to accelerate the procedures for reopening the border between the two countries for trade.
"We are looking forward to opening the borders between the two countries for commercial purposes," Rouhani said.
Some border crossings between the two countries had already reopened despite concerns over the coronavirus threat. On May 4, an Iranian official announced that two border crossings with Iraq — Shushmi and Sheikh Saleh — had officially reopened after a two-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, out of the five official border crossings.
The Iranian official indicated that these two crossings are important to the Iranian economy, since about half of non-oil Iranian exports go through Iraq, and approximately 200 trucks pass through the Sheikh Saleh crossing daily to transport Iranian goods; 567,000 tons of non-oil goods worth about $25 million were exported last year.
