Iraqi Border Ports Authority chief Omar al-Waeli said that Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has directed authorities to expedite the reopening of the al-Waleed and Rabia border crossings with Syria.
In a statement to the Iraqi News Agency (INA) on Monday, 16 February, al-Waeli said the decision aims to boost trade exchange and make use of the two crossings within the framework of the Development Road project, capitalizing on Iraq’s geographic position to link East and West.
He added that the coming days will witness the reopening of the two “important” crossings, which he said will positively reflect on state revenues and increase trade and transit movement through Iraq.
Al-Waeli noted that work is proceeding “with high determination” by staff at the al-Waleed and Rabia crossings.
The al-Waleed crossing on the Iraqi side faces the al-Tanf crossing in Syria’s Homs governorate, which borders Iraq’s al-Waleed area. The crossing has been closed for more than a decade.
US forces had previously announced their withdrawal from the al-Tanf base, which played a strategic role in US regional policy in recent years, particularly in monitoring overland supply routes between Tehran and Beirut.
The Rabia crossing corresponds to the al-Yarubiyah crossing on the Syrian side, located between the town of al-Yarubiyah in al-Hasakah governorate in northeastern Syria and the Iraqi city of Rabia in Nineveh governorate.
The crossing had been under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, and since 2013 was only opened for humanitarian cases.
On 30 January, the Syrian government signed an agreement with the SDF stipulating the integration of SDF institutions into the Syrian state.
Fawza Youssef, co-chair of the SDF negotiating delegation, said the crossings will come under the authority of the government in Damascus, with the employment of local administrative staff.
Reopening of al-Bukamal crossing
On 12 June, the General Authority for Land and Sea Ports announced the reopening of the al-Bukamal border crossing with Iraq.
In a statement published on its Facebook page, the authority said it had reopened the al-Bukamal crossing to passenger and truck traffic starting 14 June.
It affirmed the readiness of its personnel and all service facilities at the crossing, calling on travelers and truck drivers to comply with approved instructions and procedures to ensure smooth movement and safe transit.
In a post on the X platform, the authority’s director of public relations, Mazen Alloush, said the reopening was completed thanks to joint efforts and ongoing coordination between the Syrian and Iraqi sides. He added that this came after completing all technical and administrative arrangements to ensure smooth passage and provide the best services to travelers and goods.
Security wall along the Syria-Iraq border
The Iraqi Border Forces Command has completed about 350 kilometers of a concrete security wall along the Iraq-Syria border and continues work to close remaining gaps to prevent infiltration and smuggling between the two countries.
Construction of border fortifications began in 2022 along a border strip extending more than 618 kilometers, according to a statement by the command to the Iraqi News Agency on 22 November 2025.
The concrete wall is reinforced with a multi-layer barrier system, including a trench three meters wide and three meters deep, a three-meter-high earthen berm, a four-layer barbed wire obstacle, and a metal BRC fence, the Iraqi Border Forces Command said.
The wall also includes watchtowers spaced one kilometer apart, equipped with advanced thermal cameras linked to a central monitoring system.
According to the Iraqi command, border fortification does not rely solely on the concrete wall, but includes an integrated defense network featuring trenches, barbed wire, early warning systems, as well as high-resolution thermal cameras and day-and-night surveillance devices operating around the clock.
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