The Iraqi Ministry of the Interior announced that the first Iraqi-Syrian border meeting was held in the Al-Qaim area to increase security coordination, exchange information, and control the joint border. The official Iraqi news agency reported that the meeting was attended by Lieutenant General Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab Saker, commander of Iraq’s border forces, and Brigadier General Hasan Abd al-Ghani, commander of the Syrian border guards, along with a number of commanders and officers from both sides. The importance of this meeting goes beyond border coordination. For years, the Al-Qaim crossing on the Iraqi side and Al-Bukamal on the Syrian side have been part of the overland route used by the Islamic Republic and the groups it supports to connect with Syria and Lebanon. The United States previously targeted facilities of groups supported by the Islamic Republic near this border and said that these sites played a role in attacks against U.S. forces and American facilities. After Assad’s fall as well, controlling this border to prevent arms smuggling, the passage of militias, and the rebuilding of the Islamic Republic’s infiltration routes has become even more important.