Iraq shuts key Shalamcheh crossing with Iran

BASRA: Iraq closed the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran after air strikes on the Iranian side killed an Iraqi citizen, security sources said on Saturday, shutting off a vital ⁠supply artery. The crossing serves as one of ⁠the main routes for imports to Iraq of vegetables and other food supplies from Iran, traders and border officials say. Any prolonged disruption can ​quickly affect supplies ⁠to local markets.
The sources said at ​least five Iraqis were seriously wounded in the strikes, which hit a passenger reception ​area on the Iranian side. Iraqi police recovered the body of a man, while the wounded were taken to hospital, most in critical condition. Iraq’s border authorities said they had been notified by Iranian officials that truck ​and passenger movement would be restored in the coming ​hours once ⁠work on the transit and passport systems is completed.
A few hours after the strikes near ​Shalamcheh, Iraqi border authorities also briefly ⁠halted movement at ​the Safwan crossing with Kuwait after reporting explosions on the Kuwaiti side, Iraqi security and border officials said. The officials added they saw drones ​hovering overhead moments before the blasts. — Reuters