The PPA said it made the move, at the Luhamaa checkpoint in Võru County, after two Iranian nationals repeatedly tried to enter Estonia without grounds for stay.

"We closed the Luhamaa border crossing earlier than usual today. During the course of today (Sunday – ed.), two Iranian citizens have repeatedly been attempting to enter Estonia from Russia via the Luhamaa border crossing. However, they had no grounds for crossing the border, as both destroyed their travel documents immediately after arriving from Russian territory," the PPA announced.

The pair had continued to attempt to cross the border after being sent back and after Russian authorities were informed of their actions.

"We informed the Russian authorities of the incident, but the Iranian citizens were allowed to continue their attempts to enter Estonia. We consequently temporarily closed the Luhamaa border crossing. The border crossing will remain closed until the Russian Federation has resolved the situation on its side," the PPA statement went on.

Border patrol personnel issued the pair, a man and a woman, with bans on entering Estonia and returned them to the Russian Federation.

Luhamaa and Estonia's other border crossings with the Russian Federation are only open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The PPA had closed the checkpoint a couple of hours earlier than its regular shutdown time Sunday.

Attempts at illegal immigration by Iranian citizens have reportedly risen since July, prompting an unequivocal response from Estonian authorities to head off eastern border crossings becoming vectors for illegal immigration into the EU.

Editor's note: This piece was updated to note the re-opening of the border crossing at Luhamaa.

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