Reports on Monday indicated that Iraq was closing the Mandali border crossing with Iran in Diyala province. This is part of the US pressure campaign to cut off Iran’s land borders so that the regime can’t smuggle in weaponry.
Iraq is a key battlefield for Iran. It has numerous militias in Iraq that it influences, and it has carried out more than 1,000 attacks in Iraq since February.
Even as Iraq was closing one crossing, the country decided to reopen the Sheeb border crossing with Iran following weeks of closure, Rudaw media reported.
The border crossing battle is just one place where Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi now weighs his next moves. He came to power earlier this year after an election in Iraq in November 2025 left the country uncertain for months. Al-Zaidi has received support from US President Donald Trump.
He has vowed to rein in Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. Initially, he wanted the militias disarmed by September 2026, when US forces left Iraq. However, the militias stalled, and he allowed them to keep their weapons until June 2027.
Zaidi weighing arrest campaign against Iran-backed militias
Now al-Zaidi is weighing whether to begin a campaign of arrests against the militias. Kataib Hezbollah, a key Iranian-backed militia in Iraq, has upped its rhetoric against al-Zaidi in the last days. It may have also been behind an attack on the Khor Mor gas field in the Kurdistan Region. It appears that the Iraqi leadership is careening toward a moment of decision.
On the other hand, al-Zaidi was apparently in Iran for a recent unannounced visit. In addition, an Iranian delegation went to the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq for a meeting. Iran is also appointing a new ambassador to Iraq from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
All of this shows that Iran is seeking to have a heavy-handed policy regarding Iraq. Iran views Iraq as its near abroad, meaning it essentially views Iraq as a kind of extension of Iran. Iran works through Shi’ite parties in Iraq and the Coordination Framework in parliament, which is a group of Shi’ite parties. It also works through the militias.
In many cases, the militias are also parliamentary parties. Badr Organization is one example; it is both a political machine and a militia. This is the Iranian model for proxies in Yemen and Lebanon as well.
Iran often successfully outplayed other Iraqi leaders
The question for Iraq’s prime minister this week will be whether he will continue on his path of pressure on the militias, or if he will back down. Iran has often successfully outplayed other Iraqi leaders. It usually co-opts them or threatens them. It has threatened them in the past using militias. When the militias have not received what they want, they use kamikaze drone attacks or other means to intimidate adversaries.
They are also willing to spread economic havoc in Iraq. For instance, the attack on the Khor Mor gas field is an example of how they are willing to strike at strategic infrastructure. They identify a weak point, such as a gas facility that supplies a large amount of electricity needed for the Kurdistan Region, and they attack it, harming the lives of millions.