What prompted Iraq to begin a phased reopening of its border crossings with Iran after the Friday drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, which Riyadh and Baghdad said was launched from Iraqi territory; when did passenger and commercial traffic resume at Shalamcheh

Iraq reopened the crossings in stages after a short security shutdown intended to investigate drones that Baghdad and Riyadh said had been launched from Iraqi territory against Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline. The policy balanced an urgent effort to prevent further attacks and diplomatic escalation with avoiding a prolonged interruption of essential Iran-Iraq travel and trade. 211

• Reopening timetable: Passenger traffic resumed at Shalamcheh and Al-Shib at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, September 13. Commercial traffic was scheduled to return at Shalamcheh at 6:00 a.m. Monday, September 14; Mandali at 6:00 a.m. Tuesday, September 15; and Al-Shib at 6:00 a.m. Thursday, September 17. 11

• Links that stayed open: Zurbatiyah and Al-Mundhariyah continued handling passengers and freight around the clock, and the Bashmakh crossing in the Kurdistan Region also remained operational. 11

• Security response: Authorities found drone-launch equipment near Al-Shib in Maysan, close to Iran, then stepped up intelligence work, inspections, and border-control reviews. Al-Zaidi dismissed the Maysan Operations Commander, ordered an inquiry into that command, and subsequently removed the provincial police chief and referred senior security personnel for investigation. 118

• Attribution remained unresolved: No organization publicly claimed the attack. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq—an umbrella label for Iran-aligned Iraqi armed factions—denied involvement; therefore, the available evidence established the launch location, not public proof of the perpetrators. 11

• Diplomatic handling: Iran asked for, and Iraq approved, a joint investigation into the launch platforms near their shared border. Saudi Arabia accepted Baghdad’s request to defer an immediate military response while Iraq identified those responsible and acted against further launches. 511

• Al-Zaidi’s framing: He said Iraq would not become “an arena for rivalries between states” or allow its territory to serve as a launchpad against neighbors. His approach paired reasserting state authority and tightening border security with maintaining civilian movement and commerce with Iran. 11

• Why the stakes were unusually high: Saudi Arabia temporarily shut the East-West pipeline after the attack. The route had become particularly important as an outlet that could reduce dependence on the disrupted Strait of Hormuz, increasing pressure on Baghdad to show it could prevent Iraqi territory from widening the regional conflict. 13