Iran's plan to flood Jordan with weapons and drugs is nothing new. More than a year ago, here in Israel Hayom, we published a map of the threats facing King Abdullah. This includes drones used for smuggling and Shiite refugees from Iraq, who may one day become "lone wolves" or terrorist squads in the service of Tehran. Behind the plan are two goals: to set Judea and Samaria on fire by smuggling high-quality weapons, and to create chaos on Israel's longest border, which is perceived as a weak point.
Documentation: Jordanian army gasses Jordanian demonstrators from Israeli border (archive) \\ Arab networks
The war that broke out on 7 October seems to have pushed the Iranians forward with their grand plan, trying to end the war and save Hamas. The goal is to maintain one of the two main fronts in the "ring of fire" that Iran is trying to forge around Israel, alongside Hezbollah in Lebanon. In doing so, it will be able to make leisurely progress toward the desired goal of producing nuclear weapons. Indeed, the International Atomic Energy Agency recently warned that the Iranians are re-increasing the rate of uranium enrichment. A rate that reportedly stands at up to 60% – and is slowly approaching the level that allows weapons production.
The Iranians are trying to move forward. Drone display of Iran (archive), photo: AFP
Back to Jordan, where pro-Iranian militias have escalated smuggling attempts in recent weeks. A senior Jordanian army official admits that they are dealing with a "rampant campaign by drug dealers and arms smugglers," and that the past year has witnessed a significant increase in smuggling attempts by armed squads, during which high-quality weapons such as launchers, RPG launchers and automatic weapons were seized. The Jordanian official did not say the explicit name Iran, but spoke of an attempt to transfer the weapons to gangs inside the kingdom.
This is not the only front on which Iran is harming Jordan, one of whose unofficial roles at the time of its establishment was to buffer between the focal points of instability that arose in Iraq and the Land of Israel. The kingdom is one of the main victims of the restriction on navigation along the Red Sea route. This is another economic blow to a resource-poor country whose financial situation is already not great. Yesterday's incident in the Red Sea, in which the US thwarted an attempted Houthi attack, was a reminder of that.
A member of the Jordanian parliament burns the Israeli flag to applause from the audience, Photo: Arab Networks
However, despite the repeated provocations on their northern border, it seems that the Jordanians are not criticizing the greatest enemy in the east. On the contrary, all the media power of the royal family and the government is directed at bashing one of its most important allies. Just a few days ago, a Jordanian politician allowed himself to set fire to the Israeli flag in the Arab parliament and step on it to applause. Jordan's Queen Rania's lies are beyond words, as is Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi, who lashes out at Israel in every interview.
The royal family is concerned about the Palestinian masses living in Jordan and acts accordingly. Still, it must be said that Israel should not put this on the agenda. Jerusalem is not alone in benefiting from the peace agreement, and its silence in the face of Jordanian accusations of "genocide" does not add honor and diplomatic points to it in the Middle East. Perhaps quite the opposite. This silence invites other leaders in the region to hurl accusations at her in order to score points with their constituents. Therefore, despite the clear alliance of interests with Amman, it must be made clear that such media attacks also come at a price.
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us