Iraq closes 3 Iran crossings after drone attack

Iraq closed three border crossings with Iran on Saturday after a drone attack on a Saudi pipeline that both Riyadh and Baghdad said was launched from Iraq, officials told AFP.

An Iraqi security source and a government official said authorities ordered the closures at Shalamsheh in Basra province, al-Shib in Missan province and al-Mandali in Diyala province. Other border crossings with Iran remained open. The two sources could not say when the closed crossings would reopen.

The security source said the decision was part of an intelligence effort to track down the perpetrators, prevent their escape and hinder drone smuggling through the crossings.

Two Iraqi security sources told AFP that security forces found drone launchers near the Iraq-Iran border in the remote al-Tib area of Missan, close to the al-Shib crossing. The sources did not identify who placed the launchers there.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi dismissed the military commander in Missan after authorities determined that the drones had been launched from the province. His military spokesperson, Sabah al-Numan, said Zaidi had approved Iran's request for a joint investigation into finding drone launch platforms near the border.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella for powerful Tehran-backed armed groups, said Saturday that it had not struck the pipeline.