Iraq Creates New Command to Guard Southwest Borders
The Badia Operations Command will secure the Muthanna desert and strengthen coordination along Iraq’s strategic frontiers with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Iraq has established a new military command to strengthen security across the Muthanna desert and improve control along the country's southwestern borders with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.
According to an INA report citing a senior security source, an executive decree has created the Badia Operations Command, with responsibility for maintaining security and stability across the desert areas of Muthanna province and surrounding territory.
New command for the desert frontier
The new formation will not be limited to conventional border protection.
The security source said its responsibilities include coordinating military units operating in the area and addressing security gaps where the state's security presence has been limited.
The decision gives Baghdad a dedicated command structure for a large and difficult-to-monitor stretch of territory.
Muthanna, in southwestern Iraq, includes extensive desert areas along the frontiers with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, making control of the region important to Iraq's broader border-security posture.
The command is therefore intended to bring greater coordination to forces operating across the desert rather than leaving security responsibilities divided among separate units.
Strategic borders under closer watch
The move comes as Iraqi security forces maintain heightened readiness along the country's borders.
The army has placed particular attention on the Syrian frontier, while Baghdad has also been concerned about the possibility of armed groups using Iraqi territory to launch attacks against neighboring countries or US interests in the region.
The establishment of the Badia Operations Command adds another layer to those efforts by concentrating military planning and coordination in a strategically sensitive part of the country.
Its creation also comes at a time when Iraq is attempting to prevent regional conflicts from drawing the country directly into confrontation between outside powers and armed factions operating inside Iraq.
Security tension shapes Baghdad's response
The decision follows heightened regional tensions after joint US-Saudi airstrikes struck Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) positions in late July, prompting threats of retaliation from some Iraqi armed groups.
The government has sought to maintain Iraq's stated neutrality and prevent its territory from being used as a base for attacks connected to wider regional conflicts.
Prime Minister Ali Zaidi has ordered that all weapons be placed under state control by Sept. 30, while the government has also moved to end the missions of Iranian military advisers.
Those measures have contributed to friction with factions of the so-called Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which have resisted the government's demand for greater state control over weapons.
State control and neutrality
Against that backdrop, the new command reflects Baghdad's broader effort to strengthen the state's security presence and improve its ability to control strategically important territory.
The immediate task of the Badia Operations Command is the security of the Muthanna desert, but its creation also comes as Iraq seeks to reinforce its borders and limit the possibility that its territory could become an arena for regional military confrontation.
By establishing a dedicated command for the southwestern frontier, Baghdad is seeking greater coordination among its security forces while maintaining its stated policy of keeping Iraq outside the conflicts of neighboring countries and regional powers.