Iran closes border with Iraq amid unrest

That was announced by Majid Mirahmadi, deputy Iranian interior minister for security affairs.

He said that the border will remain closed until further notice and Iranian pilgrims cannot use border areas to visit Iraq.

Authorities in Ilam Province, which is located in western Iran and shares border with Iraq, have also demanded the Iranians, who have come to the province to go to Iraq, cancel their trip through the Mehran border area.

Meanwhile, Imam Khomeini International Airport, located near the capital Tehran, issued a statement saying that some airlines have canceled flights to Iraqi capital Baghdad due to the situation there.

And, Iran’s Embassy in Baghdad has asked the Iranian individuals currently in Iraq to avoid traveling to the capital, as well as the cities of Kadhimiya and Samarra.

The Iraqi army declared a nationwide curfew on Monday after supporters of Muqtada Sadr, who leads the Sadrist Movement, stormed the presidential palace in Baghdad’s Green Zone which hosts government buildings and foreign embassies, after he announced that he would quit politics for good.

Sadr’s supporters have in the past several weeks held protests as well, prompting reactions by other political factions that demanded restraint and dialogue to resolve differences.

However, the Sadrist Movement rejected to enter talks with the Coordination Framework Alliance which says the political crisis should be resolved through the constitution.

Iraqi political parties have failed to form a government since elections in October 2021.