US strikes Iran-Iraq border in latest hit on civilian structure

US strikes Iran-Iraq border in latest attack on civilian infrastructure Twelve days into the renewed US assault on Iran, Tehran has accused Washington of targeting the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iraq, killing two people. The strike on the Shalamcheh crossing early on Thursday morning killed at least two people and injured 11 others [GETTY} A US strike on Iran’s Shalamcheh border crossing with Iraq killed at least two people and wounded 11 others, in the latest American attack to hit civilian infrastructure during the renewed offensive on the Islamic Republic. Footage circulated by Iranian media early on Thursday showed the passenger terminal, just east of Basrah, ablaze, with parts of the building’s walls and roof destroyed and people fleeing the area. Valiollah Hayati, the deputy governor for security and law enforcement in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province, later confirmed that the area around the terminal had been targeted. Emergency teams were dispatched shortly after the attack, with Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency reporting that the situation was under control and that travellers were continuing to pass through the crossing normally – particularly pilgrims using the route ahead of the annual Arbaeen pilgrimage. The Shalamcheh crossing had already been struck in April, when an airstrike on the Iranian side killed one Iraqi traveller and wounded several others. Early on Thursday, the US Central Command said it had carried out its 12th consecutive wave of strikes on Iran, while local media reported multiple attacks across the country alongside the deadly incident at Shalamcheh. Iran’s Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Administration said two maritime search-and-rescue vessels were hit in a US strike in the province, directly opposite Oman and the UAE along the Strait of Hormuz, causing serious damage. Authorities stressed that the vessels were engaged solely in relief and humanitarian work. Explosions attributed to US strikes were also reported overnight near Eslamabad-e-Gharb in Kermanshah province, as well as near Andimeshk, about 100 kilometres from the Iraqi border. Al-Zaidi visits Tehran The strike along the border with Iraq comes at a sensitive moment for Baghdad, as Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is due to arrive in Tehran on Thursday for a two-day official visit, his second stop in a foreign tour that began with a meeting with US President Donald Trump on 13 July. Iraqi government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi said the visit came in response to an official invitation from Tehran and was aimed at discussing issues including gas cooperation between the two countries. Although government sources in Baghdad denied that the disarmament issue would be included on the agenda, a senior Iraqi government official told The New Arab on Wednesday that the question of armed factions refusing to surrender their weapons would be a prominent part of the talks. The sources noted, however, the sensitivity of the issue because of Iran’s ties to a network of Iraqi armed factions that it supports with funding, weapons and training, helping preserve its influence over Iraq’s security and politics. During his visit to Washington last week, al-Zaidi reaffirmed Baghdad’s commitment to limiting arms to the state, especially in light of attacks by armed groups linked to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) at the outset of the US-Israel war on Iran in early March, when groups such as Saraya Awliya al-Dam claimed responsibility for attacks on American bases in the region. Related Articles