The Jordanian security services said Tuesday that they had arrested 16 people they accused of plotting threats to national security involving weapons, explosives and plans to manufacture drones and train combatants, both domestically and abroad.
The statement from Jordan’s General Intelligence Department was a rare acknowledgment of threats to security in a country seen as one of the most stable in a region frequently beset by war and turmoil. Jordan has long been a key partner for Western allies in fighting Islamist militants and mediating in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Arab kingdom, with roughly half its population made up of Palestinians, has been struggling to maintain that stability amid simmering discontent within its population over the war in the Gaza Strip and broader regional fighting — particularly after Jordan supported Israel in shooting down missiles during an Iranian aerial attack last spring.
For years, the country has also been engaged in an extended battle to combat drug smugglers seeking to move their goods through the country toward wealthy customers in the Gulf region.
In its statement on Tuesday, Jordan’s intelligence service said it had been “closely monitoring” the people it detained since 2021, which may have been a reference to an attempted palace coup that year. In April 2021, Jordan’s king, Abdullah II, accused his younger brother, Hamzah, of involvement in a conspiracy aimed at destabilizing national security with foreign backing. Fourteen people were arrested in connection with the apparent plot.
Other than the 2021 reference, there was no immediate indication from the statement that those arrested this week had ties to that earlier plot, which led to Prince Hamza being placed under house arrest. The government later announced that the rift between the prince and King Abdullah II had been resolved through mediation.
The Jordanian authorities said the newer plot included plans to manufacture missiles locally as well as bring them in from abroad, and to obtain explosives and weapons. The plot also included “concealment of a ready-to-use missile, a project to manufacture drones, and the recruitment and training of individuals within the Kingdom and their subsequent training abroad,” the statement said.
A report by the Reuters news agency cited officials saying that the arrests on Tuesday were connected to the Palestinian militant group, Hamas. Since the war between Israel and Hamas began in Gaza, Jordan has countered Iranian efforts to smuggle weapons through the country to Palestinian militants across the border in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to regional and U.S. officials.
