BAGHDAD -- Iraq reopened the Al-Shayb border crossing with Iran to commercial traffic on Tuesday, ending a three-week closure that had sparked sustained protests in Maysan province, where residents said their livelihoods were being sacrificed to American pressure while prices for basic goods soared.

The crossing, known as Chazzabeh on the Iranian side, had been shut since October 21. Passenger and pilgrim traffic had resumed earlier, but commercial movement remained suspended until Tuesday, according to Iraqi border authorities.

Alaa al-Waeli, head of Iraq's border crossing authority, confirmed the reopening after "necessary measures" were completed to ensure the smooth flow of people and goods.

The closure's official justification shifted repeatedly. Iraqi government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi initially cited "technical readiness" issues. A border official later said the closure was meant to review security procedures and install detection equipment.

Iraq's foreign ministry confirmed on November 8 that Washington had asked Baghdad to close all land crossings with Iran as part of its economic isolation strategy against Tehran.

The crossing is the primary entry point for most goods, commodities and foodstuffs into Amarah and the rest of the Maysan province. Its shutdown caused a sharp rise in prices for vegetables and fruit, and idled truck drivers, customs brokers, and loading workers who depend on cross-border trade.

Protests erupted within days. Truck drivers and border workers gathered on the road leading to the crossing, holding signs demanding its reopening. Tribal leaders warned the closure had "cut off the livelihoods of thousands of people".

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 issued an arrest warrant for him over the threats; he was briefly detained before tribal leaders secured his release and urged the prime minister to reopen the crossing "out of consideration for the people of Maysan".

By early November, the protests had sharpened into direct condemnation of American interference. Demonstrators in Maysan protested the continued submission of the al-Zaidi government to the dictates and pressure of the terrorist American government, and emphasized the necessity of immediately reopening the crossing for their livelihood and to prevent their economic situation from worsening.

One protester's slogan captured the mood: "If there is no border, there is no oil."

The border closure was not an isolated measure. Earlier, restrictions on air travel—including flights to Najaf—had also triggered mass sit-ins. In early October, the Al-Nujaba Movement announced that Najaf International Airport had been reopened and a planned open-ended sit-in cancelled after popular pressure.

Sheikh Nazim al-Sa'idi, head of the movement's executive council, thanked the crowds who participated, saying their stance "proved that Iraq's sovereignty is a red line" and warning that if the "unjust American siege on Iraqi airports" continued, the Iraqi people would return with an "angry popular flood".

The reopening on Tuesday was welcomed by Iranian officials. Valiollah Hayati, security deputy for Iran's Khuzestan province, told Tasnim that the commercial section had reopened "despite American pressure exerted on Iraq".

But for Maysan's residents, the three-week closure laid bare a vulnerability that no official statement could paper over: their economic survival depends on a border that can be shut at Washington's request, and their protests—road blockades, civil disobedience threats, sit-ins—were the only leverage they had to force it open again.

Prime Minister al-Zaidi's visit to Tehran on Saturday, disclosed by Iranian sources, had aimed to ease regional tensions and prevent further escalation, according to Iraq's ambassador to Iran.

Whether that visit contributed to the reopening remained unclear. What was clear, as trucks resumed crossing at Al-Shayb on Tuesday, was that the pressure came from below—from the truck drivers, market vendors, and provincial officials who refused to absorb the cost of a blockade they never chose.