ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq’s border ports authority on Wednesday said the country’s land crossings on the border with Iran are currently undergoing “rehabilitation works,” following international reports that the crossings were closed under pressure from Washington.

Sources speaking to The New Region on Tuesday said that the Shib border crossing in Iraq’s Maysan province would be closed from Wednesday morning “until further notice,” without disclosing the reason, adding that all other border crossings with Iran would also be gradually closed.

Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi recently directed “rehabilitation works for border crossings, the creation of new roads, and equipping them with advanced inspection devices,” Omar Adnan al-Waeli, head of Iraq’s border ports authority, told state media.

The work will continue for the next few days which aims to “contribute to accelerating the movement of goods, enhancing the efficiency of border crossings and supporting trade exchange,” he added.

The Iraqi official’s comments follow reports from AFP earlier in the day which claimed that the closure of the border crossings came following pressure from Washington on Baghdad to shut all entry points with its eastern neighbor, citing Iraqi sources.

One of the sources told AFP that “the US Treasury Department discussed this with Zaidi when he was in New York,” referring to the Iraqi premier’s attendance at the UN General Assembly in September.

“The United States has asked all countries bordering Iran to do the same,” a second source added.

Pakistan, a mediator between Tehran and Washington, also temporarily closed its borders with Iran earlier this month. Pakistani authorities cited security concerns, while Iran blamed it on technical difficulties.

Iraq closed the Shib and Basra’s Shalamcheh crossings with Iran in September as well, after drones were allegedly launched towards Saudi Arabia from Iraqi territory, prompting a probe.

Iraq and Iran share a 1,599 km border line and there are nine official border crossings linking Iran to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. As a result of this recent measure, only two of the border crossings would remain open, one in the Kurdistan Region and the other in federal Iraq, according to AFP.