Shafaq News- Tehran

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday that Iraqi officials had themselves pointed to US pressure behind problems surrounding Al-Sheeb border crossing, as Tehran pressed Baghdad to reopen the busy trade and pilgrim route between the two countries.

US actions and what Baqaei called "illegal sanctions" sow discord between countries and hurt people in neighboring states, he told his weekly news conference in Tehran.

Iran and Iraq should take the interests of both peoples into account, he said, stressing that the border issue is "not merely an emotional matter."

Iran's embassy in Baghdad and its consulates in Iraq are following the issue closely, according to Baqaei.

Iraq closed Al-Sheeb, in the southern province of Maysan, on October 21 until further notice. Government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi said the crossing lacked the technical and logistical readiness to keep operating. Known in Iran as Chazabeh, it links Maysan with Iran's Khuzestan province and is a key route for Iranian goods and pilgrims heading to Iraq's Shiite shrine cities.

Tehran has criticized the move, accusing Baghdad of failing to give advance notice as required under a bilateral agreement. On Saturday, Iran's embassy in Iraq rejected as "false allegations" claims by Abdul Amir Taiban, an adviser to Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, that the crossing had been closed over drug trafficking and counterfeit currency smuggling.

The closure has also drawn anger at home. Maysan Provincial Council chief Mustafa Duair warned on Sunday of civil disobedience and road closures unless the crossing reopens within three days.

The dispute comes as Iraq faces mounting US pressure over its economic ties with Iran. Last September, air travel between the two countries came to a halt after US sanctions on Iran's civil aviation sector took effect.