Jordan faces Iranian threat in the Middle East

The threat from the Tehran regime is one of the main challenges for the Middle East.

The long-standing covert war between Iran and Israel is increasingly visible in the region after decades of mutual accusations. Iran is for Israel the biggest threat, while Israel is for Iran an ally of the United States that only wants to slow its growth as a Middle Eastern power. Instability, then and now, has been a reality.

Since the proclamation of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, relations with the Jewish state and the other Gulf states have fluctuated with increasing tensions: Iran's support for terrorism in the region, for the Palestinian Resistance, for the Hezbollah group in Lebanon, for Hamas in Gaza, for the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, and always with the threat of eliminating the Jewish state.

However, the expansionism of the Iranian regime with support from Moscow makes an Arab-Israeli alliance against Iran in the Middle East increasingly possible, especially with the support of the United States. 

Jordan has always been an important partner for the Atlantic Alliance, as demonstrated by the presence of the Hashemite kingdom's Foreign Minister Ayman Hussein Sadafi at the NATO summit in Madrid. 

With a specific mention in the newly approved Strategic Concept, the Middle East was identified as a region that "directly affects our security and that of our partners", as published in article 11 of the new roadmap, making conflict and instability of greater importance to the Alliance. 

The political solution in Syria, the Palestinian question, support for stability in Iraq, in Lebanon, the threat from Iran and the shortage of grain due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict were the main concerns of Amman's envoy to the summit, who reiterated that Jordan was a "force for peace and stability in the region", and that they would continue to cooperate "shoulder to shoulder" with NATO, as King Abdullah II also mentioned. 

However, it was not only the increased support of Atlantic Alliance partners for the Hashemite Kingdom that the Foreign Minister took with him to Amman, but also the message of success that the allies' summit was a success in dealing with threats that are largely common to all members. A feeling that has not gone unnoticed by King Abdullah II. 

"I would be one of the first people to support a NATO in the Middle East," Abdullah said in an exclusive interview with US broadcaster CNBC. "I would like to see more countries in the region come into that mix," he said, calling on other countries seeking to confront threats. However, the monarch stressed that "the role of this NATO should be very clear to avoid confusion".

Abdullah II cited the aftermath of the conflict in Ukraine as a positive example of how to cooperate together in the region and as a first step towards more cooperation. "We all come together and say how we can help each other, which is, I think, very unusual in the region," he said. 

However, this new Middle East Alliance is not just a Jordanian proposal, but rather a future possibility. The Wall Street Journal reported on a secret meeting held in March in the Egyptian city of Sharm El Sheikh. Organised by the US, the meeting included senior Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials and military chiefs from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan. According to the media, the talks were described as first steps towards regional cooperation, starting with defending against Iran's planned aerial threats with its drones and ballistic missiles. 

So much so that this military alliance is one of the most important issues on US President Joe Biden's agenda during his current visit to the Middle East, especially the inclusion of Israel in the area of responsibility of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees military operations throughout the Gulf region.

Thus, under the US umbrella, these countries could face the threat of Iran and its support groups in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon. And also the growing influence of China and Russia on the Islamic Republic. All this under the diplomatic normalisation achieved in the Abraham Accords.

The United States is clear. "Tehran provides arms, support and direction to its allies in the region who carry out acts of terrorism and undermine local governments - all in Iranian interests," said CETCOM chief Kenneth McKenzie at the Pentagon before leaving office on 1 April. "While still in its infancy at the moment, we have seen a willingness on the part of traditional regional allies to work together on exercises with Israeli defence. Air defence is an excellent opportunity for cooperation," McKenzie added.

Looking again at Jordan, and if confirmed, the Hashemite Kingdom would again position itself as one of the promoters of the agreement in the region, as it did with the Arab League in 1945 and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in 1969. This time, however, not all members of the government are of the same mind.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Sadafi told Al-Jazeera that "there are no discussions about the establishment of a military coalition formed by Israel", thus denying that there had been any secret meetings in Egypt. Nor is the issue on the agenda of US President Joe Biden's visit to the region," he said. But Sadafi is not the only one in the Jordanian government to oppose any statement by King Abdullah II.

Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh told BBC Arabic that Jordan has never treated Iran as a threat to its national security. These words contradicted King Abdullah II's statement to the contrary weeks ago.

Against the backdrop of rising tensions on the Syrian border and increased smuggling, the Prime Minister said that not only had the Hashemite Kingdom not treated Iran as a threat, but that Jordan also seeks to reach a joint formula based on good neighbourly relations that are already very healthy. 

As for King Abdullah II's statements about his support for a NATO in the Middle East, Khasawneh said that "the King never spoke about a royal initiative and only answered a hypothetical question, because Jordan was not offered any attempt to form a regional military framework". 

What the Jordanian king did emphasise in his remarks was the Iranian threat. "We want everyone to be part of a new Middle East and move forward, but we have security problems. We are seeing border attacks on a regular basis and we know who is behind that," the monarch noted.

"Iran's ballistic technology has improved a lot. We have seen it, unfortunately, against US bases in Iraq. We have seen Saudi Arabia being the recipient of missiles from Yemen. In Israel even from Syria and Lebanon, and what Israel misses sometimes lands in Jordan. Add to this the increase in cyber-attacks on many of our countries. Shootings on our borders have increased almost to the times when we were at the extreme with Daesh," declared King Abdullah II.

Stability on the northern border was also one of the main claims made by Brigadier General Ahmed Hashem Khalifat, director of Jordan's Border Security Directorate, who indicated that the Syrian army, Hezbollah and Iran were cooperating with smugglers on the Syrian-Jordanian border.

However, Abdullah's message about his intention to join the military alliance with Israel has not been well received by Jordan's press and former ministers either, despite the threats Iran poses to Jordan's security.

The Palestinian question. This is the main concern of Jordanian public opinion, which sees the Arab-Israeli alliance as a threat to Jordan's interests in the context of the Palestinian question and Jerusalem, a source of problems and concerns in the region. 

"Despite the Abraham Accords, Israel was and remains the criminal enemy of the Arabs, and no global potential will force the Arabs to form a military alliance with Israel until it respects the rights of the Palestinians," wrote former Information Minister Samih al-Ma'ayta. He added that while Jordan opposes Iran's involvement in the region, there is a big difference between this and preparing to start a war with the Islamic Republic. 

A consideration also made by Muhammad Daudia, head of the board of the daily Al-Dustour and a former Jordanian cabinet minister, who headlined his column in the daily "Mr President Biden, we will not form an alliance with the occupier".

"We hope that the friend of our King and our country, US President Joe Biden, will make a proposal that is fair, realistic and feasible and that does not ignore the fact that the State of Israel maintains a barbaric occupation that has been condemned by the UN," Daudia published.

In any case, it will be at the regional summit in the Saudi city of Jeddah that Joe Biden and representatives of Arab countries and Israel will make progress on the military alliance to confront Iran in the Middle East, the 'NATO' of the region.