Iraq sets up new border command to prevent attacks on Saudi Arabia

BAGHDAD – Iraq has established a new military command to secure desert areas along its southern border with Saudi Arabia after Riyadh accused Iran-aligned armed factions of launching drone attacks from Iraqi territory, Iraqi security sources said.

The Badia Operations Command was formed after PMF units withdrew from parts of Al-Muthanna and Najaf provinces, leaving regular Iraqi forces responsible for the security of the remote desert region.

Led by Major General Emad al-Maliki, the command comprises three brigades covering the Naqra al-Salman and Busayyah areas of Al-Muthanna and Al-Shabaka in Najaf. It will also bring local security agencies within its area under a unified military structure.

The forces will be supported by armed aircraft and reconnaissance flights to monitor the vast desert, secure routes to the Saudi border and prevent armed groups, smugglers or other illegal networks from exploiting gaps in security.

The move follows a deterioration in Iraq-Saudi security ties after Riyadh accused Iraqi-based armed factions of launching drones at Saudi targets, including oil infrastructure, in July.

Saudi Arabia subsequently carried out strikes on PMF positions in Iraq. The PMF said at least 20 of its members were killed and 32 wounded. Baghdad condemned the strikes as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty while pledging to prevent Iraqi territory from being used to attack neighbouring states.

The new command appears designed to give those assurances a concrete military form by placing the sensitive southern desert under direct state control.

It also comes as Baghdad and Riyadh intensify security contacts. Iraqi and Saudi officials met US Central Command representatives in Riyadh last week to discuss armed factions and measures to prevent further cross-border attacks.

The security overhaul has an economic dimension as well.

The command will help secure the route to the planned Al-Jamima border crossing, which Iraq is developing as its second major land link with Saudi Arabia after the Arar crossing in Al-Anbar.

Baghdad has allocated about 200 billion Iraqi dinars ($152 million) for the crossing, the Samawah-Jamima road and related infrastructure.

Al-Jamima is expected to strengthen trade and passenger links between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, but its viability will depend on reliable security along the surrounding desert routes.

The new military structure also fits into Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s wider push to strengthen state control over weapons and security decisions. Several powerful Iran-aligned factions have rejected calls to surrender their weapons ahead of a September 30 deadline.

For Baghdad, securing the Saudi frontier is therefore both a foreign-policy test and a domestic one.

A sustained state presence in the desert could help reassure Riyadh, reduce the risk of cross-border attacks and protect emerging economic ties, while demonstrating whether Baghdad can prevent armed groups from using Iraqi territory without government approval.