Tehran: Iran plans to reopen a border with Iraq's Kurdish region, an Iranian news agency reported yesterday, after Iraqi officials said it was closed last month in protest at the detention of Iranians by US forces.
Iran had not previously given a clear explanation for the closure reported by Iraqi officials. But the move followed the detention in Iraq's northern Kurdish area by US forces of an Iranian man, who was accused of supporting Iraqi militants. Tehran has called the arrest of the detained man, identified as Mahmoudi Farhadi, as a violation of international law. It has also protested over the detention since January of five other Iranians, also accused by Washington of assisting militants.
An official from Iran's Supreme National Security Council said a senior delegation from Iraq's Kurdistan area had visited Tehran to discuss "border problems", ISNA news agency reported, without naming the official. "As a result of negotiations, it was decided that starting tomorrow [Sunday] Iran would take action to open its borders," the official said. It was not immediately clear if the "action" Iran would start taking from Sunday meant the border would open the same day.
