Zaidi Dismisses Maysan Commander, Iraq Shuts Three Border Crossings to Iran

PM Ali al-Zaidi dismissed the commander of Maysan Operations Command and ordered the province's security agency directors transferred and referred for investigation, after an inquiry found the drones that struck Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline the previous day had been launched from inside Maysan. Armed forces spokesman Maj Gen Sabah al-Numan confirmed the finding. Iraq temporarily closed three border crossings to Iran — Shalamcheh (Basra), Al-Shib (Maysan) and Mandali (Diyala) — to prevent the attackers fleeing across the border, and closed the al-Tayyib border area in Maysan after drone launch platforms were discovered there. Baghdad approved a joint investigation with Iran into the launch sites. Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry condemned the strike but agreed to hold off on immediate retaliation after Zaidi requested time for Iraq to prevent further attacks from its territory.