UPDATE - Iran denies closing border with Iraq’s Kurdish region

*UPDATE WITH IRAN'S DENIAL OF CLOSURE

By Amir al-Saadi

TEHRAN (AA) – Iran on Sunday denied reports that it has shut down a main border crossing with northern Iraq’s Kurdish region.

"As we announced before, Iran closed its airspace with the Kurdish region at a request from the Iraqi government,” Iran’s ISNA news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi as saying.

He said Tehran had not taken any other steps.

Earlier Sunday, Ali Tawfiq, director of the terminal, told reporters that Iran had shut down a main border crossing with the Kurdish region.

“Iranian authorities have closed the crossing near al-Sulaimaniyah province,” he said.

“The closure has halted the movement of goods and people into and from the Kurdish region,” Tawfiq added.

Iran has three main crossings with the Kurdish region; Haji Omaran (in Erbil Province), Parwezkhan, and Bashmaq.

Tension has been on the rise between Erbil and Baghdad since last month when the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) held a referendum for independence from Iraq.

The Sept. 25 illegitimate referendum has faced strong opposition from most regional and international actors -- including the U.S., Turkey, and Iran -- who warned that the poll would distract from Iraq’s fight against terrorism and further destabilize the region

In the immediate aftermath of the illegitimate referendum, Baghdad banned international flights from entering KRG-controlled areas and closed all foreign diplomatic missions based in the Kurdish region.

Last month, Iranian authorities announced the closure of its airspace with the Kurdish region at a request from the Iraqi government.