An Iranian MP threatens to close the border with Pakistan

An Iranian MP threatened to close the land border with Pakistan if Islamabad continued to prevent the crossing of trucks coming from Iran, at a time when hundreds of trucks were piled up at the border crossings, following the suspension of trade between the two countries.

The head of the Iran-Pakistan Parliamentary Friendship Group, MP Fada Hossein Maleki, told the reformist ILNA news agency on Thursday that the border had been reopened “unilaterally,” adding: “If this situation continues, Iran will inevitably close its borders from this side.” Maleki explained, after following up with the Iranian province of Balochistan, that trucks in Pakistan are entering Iran, but movement from Iran to Pakistan “is still closed.”

Maleki said that he discussed the issue with Pakistani Army Commander Field Marshal Asim Munir during his visit to Tehran, and that Munir “issued his orders from here, from Tehran, to open the border,” adding that the Pakistani side attributed the restrictions to a “technical problem.” Maleki believed that what happened fell “in the context of American political pressure on neighboring countries to restrict or close the borders.”

Hundreds of trucks were still stuck on Wednesday on the Pakistani side of the crossings with Iran, after trade between the two countries was suspended. Driver Abdul Ghani said that the drivers are facing “extreme difficulties,” while an official in the Pakistani province of Balochistan indicated that the borders have been closed to trade for five days.

On the other hand, questions are increasing about the timing, boundaries, and goals of any potential military confrontation between Israel and Iran, in light of reports that Israel was preparing a massive bombing campaign against Iranian targets, then postponed it due to the objection of President Donald Trump. Expert opinions reveal a discrepancy between military expectations and political calculations, emphasizing that election results alone will not determine the fate of the confrontation.