Iraq's federal government has ordered the closure of the Al-Sheeb border crossing with Iran until further notice, Shafaq News reported on Tuesday. An informed source at the Maysan Provincial Council told Shafaq News the closure would begin at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, October 21, for technical reasons, without providing further details.

A second account, compiled by CNBC Indonesia from an Iraqi government official who spoke to Al Jazeera, said Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered the Sheeb crossing closed until further notice, that the closure covers both people and goods and took effect on Wednesday, and that several other border crossings would also be closed in stages over the next few days. On that account, the Iraqi government has not explained the reason for the move. The two reports agree on the closure, its timing and its open-ended duration, but give different explanations — technical reasons in one, no reason stated in the other — and no official link to any specific security incident has been announced for this closure.

Al-Sheeb lies in Iraq's southeastern Maysan province, which borders Iran, and is one of the land crossings used for passenger movement and trade between the two neighbours. Shafaq News noted that Iraqi authorities had previously shut Al-Sheeb temporarily on September 12, along with the Shalamcheh and Mandali crossings, to review security and administrative procedures.

Until Baghdad issues a formal statement, the full scope of the staged closures described in the Al Jazeera-sourced account — which other crossings, and for how long — remains unconfirmed. Traders and travellers using the Maysan route face an indefinite halt from Wednesday morning. Sources: Shafaq News (via Hatha Alyoum English); CNBC Indonesia, citing an Iraqi official speaking to Al Jazeera.