ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Baghdad on Saturday announced the closure of a number of border crossings with Iran to investigate reported “breaches and violations,” a day after drone strikes launched from Iraqi territory targeted Saudi Arabia, while stressing that cross-border movement would continue and that efforts were underway to reopen the crossings.

“The competent security authorities have begun administrative and security arrangements at a number of border crossings, necessitating their closure,” Iraq’s security media cell announced in a statement, adding that the move is in line with a series of legal measures and investigations “to determine the circumstances of the breaches and violations that occurred at these crossings.”

State media reported that the Al-Shib border crossing in Maysan province and Al-Shalamjah in Basra were closed amid the dispatch of a high-level security committee in the area to investigate “security breaches.” Mandali border crossing in Diyala province was also closed, according to Iraq’s border ports authority.

The authority later clarified that the measures taken at several border crossings with Iran are “temporary,” adding that “cross-border movement with Iran has not ceased; operations continue around the clock at the Zurbatiyah and Al-Munthiriya crossings.”

It added that the Border Ports Commission is working to “finalize organizational and upgrading requirements at other crossings, paving the way for the resumption of operations once the necessary procedures are complete.”

The measures come a day after an attack by a series of drones launched from Iraq at Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline in the Riyadh and Madina regions, according to an announcement by Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry on Friday.

In response, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi directed an investigation into the attack and removed the commander of Maysan’s operations from his post following confirmation that the attacks targeting Saudi Arabia originated from the province.

On Saturday, he ordered the dismissal of the police chief in Maysan and the transfer of security service directors in the province to the command, referring them for investigation, according to a statement from his office. 

Later, government spokesperson Sabah al-Numan said in a statement that Zaidi "agreed to the Iranian side’s request" for a joint investigation into the discovery of drone launch platforms near the Iraqi-Iranian border.

The East-West pipeline currently serves as an essential energy lifeline for Riyadh, allowing it to export up to 7 million barrels of crude oil per day amid the maritime restrictions that Iran has put on the Strait of Hormuz.

The development comes after Saudi Arabia and the US launched coordinated attacks against several Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) bases in Iraq in late July, killing and wounding dozens, after Saudi authorities said the country’s oil facilities had been targeted by Iran-aligned militias inside Iraq at Tehran’s behest.