BAGHDAD (Dispatches) -- Iraqi truck drivers and border workers protested in Maysan province on Saturday demanding the reopening of the Al-Shayb border crossing with Iran, as residents warned of serious action and officials offered conflicting explanations for a closure that has cut off a vital supply line for basic goods.
Dozens of truck drivers, taxi operators and border crossing employees gathered on the road leading to the Al-Shayb crossing, holding signs calling for the resumption of activities, according to local media reports. 
The crossing, a key route for passengers and goods between Iraq and Iran, was closed by the Iraqi government on Oct. 20. 
Government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi said the closure was due to a lack of technical readiness and that commercial exchanges with Iran continue through other crossings, without providing a timeline for reopening.
The official explanation has shifted repeatedly. A security source initially declined to specify reasons. A border official later said the closure was meant to review security procedures and install detection equipment to prevent smuggling. 
Iraq’s prime minister’s office denied reports that the decision came at Washington’s direction, insisting it was made for “regulatory and administrative considerations”. 
But an Iraqi official told Chinese state media that the closure came under U.S. pressure, with Washington asking Baghdad to impose a land blockade on Iran during the prime minister’s visit to New York for the UN General Assembly. 
Iran’s Mehr agency reported the decision was made at the request of the United States as part of an economic isolation plan, and that only two border crossings would remain open.
The closure has hit Maysan’s local economy hard. The crossing is the primary entry point for most goods, commodities and foodstuffs into Amarah and the rest of the province, and its shutdown has directly caused a sharp rise in prices. 
Tribal leaders warned that the closure had “cut off the livelihoods of thousands of people” dependent on cross-border trade. An Iraqi lawmaker from the State of Law coalition cautioned that restricting border entries with Iran would disrupt the flow of goods and agricultural products and drive up food prices, noting that Iraq imports many agricultural products from Iran at very favorable prices but that “America wants to prevent this”.
Anger has boiled over among residents. Maysan Provincial Council chief Mustafa Daeer Muhammedawi threatened to block major roads connecting the province to the rest of Iraq unless the crossing reopened, warning that people would “be forced to resort to civil disobedience”. 
An Iraqi court subsequently issued an arrest warrant for him over the threats, and he was briefly detained. Tribal leaders called for the warrant to be revoked and urged the prime minister to reopen the crossing “out of consideration for the people of Maysan”. 
Truck drivers expressed frustration over the sudden closure. “What are we supposed to do? Where can we go?” one representative asked, stressing that affected workers have families to support.
The demonstrations were less confrontational than previous week’s protests, but the underlying tension remains. 
Some media reports linked the decision to security concerns, while the Iraqi government has not officially confirmed any intention to close other crossings or that the Al-Shayb decision was made in response to external pressure.