Iran closes border to Kurdish Iraq

Iran has closed its five entry points with Iraqi Kurdistan, CNN reported Monday.

One of the entry points is in Irbil, two are in Sulaimaniya and two are in Khanaqin. The closure has been linked to the arrest last week of an Iranian man by U.S troops in Sulaimaniya. The U.S. military labeled Mahmoody Farhadi a member of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Quds Force and said that he “has been involved in transporting improvised explosive devices and explosively formed penetrates into Iraq. Intelligence reports also indicate he was involved in the infiltration and training of foreign terrorists in Iraq.”

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani blasted the United States for the arrest and called for Farhadi’s release, saying that he is a civil servant who was merely on a trade mission to Iraqi Kurdistan.

Talabani also spoke out against the border closures, saying that they would cause “severe damage to markets and trade in the province on this blessed month,” referring to Ramadan.

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