The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is caught between two regional powers and will face critical social, political and financial repercussions ought to regional tensions proceed to accentuate.
Jordan’s tenuous place implies that any regional motion – an intensification of hostilities between Iran and Israel or an Israeli invasion of Rafah – can have incendiary repercussions domestically.
“Any imminent Iranian-Israeli war is going to put Jordan on a tightrope,” Sean Yom, an professional on Jordan at Temple College and the creator of From Resilience to Revolution, advised Al Jazeera. “Publicly, it has to stay out of the fray; it cannot side with any combatant.”
Jordan has pushed for a ceasefire in Israel’s warfare on Gaza and publicised its help distribution efforts within the besieged enclave.
However that has completed little to appease the scores of protesters who’ve rallied exterior the US and Israeli embassies. Amongst their calls for are ending relations with Israel and america.
Since October 7, protests in Jordan have ebbed and flowed as Israel’s marketing campaign in Gaza killed greater than 34,000 Palestinians.
Analysts say the monarchy has tried to press the US and Israelis for a ceasefire and a rise in help coming into Gaza, however these efforts have had little impression.
A more moderen incident has enraged folks additional.
‘A matter of principle’
In a single day on Saturday, April 13, the Royal Jordanian Air Drive took to the skies to intercept and shoot down dozens of Iranian drones as they flew over Jordan’s territory on their strategy to Israel.
Iran had fired greater than 300 missiles and drones at Israel in retaliation for an alleged Israeli strike on Iran’s consular constructing in Damascus. A senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander, Brigadier Basic Mohammad Reza Zahedi, was killed within the assault together with different commanders.
The Jordanian authorities stated it was defending its nationwide borders.
“There was imminent danger of drones or missiles falling in Jordan, and the Jordanian armed forces dealt with this danger in the appropriate manner,” Jordan’s International Minister Ayman Safadi stated.
“We will not permit anyone to jeopardise the security of Jordan and the Jordanians … This is a matter of principle and these are steps we have taken in the past. We took them yesterday and we will take them in the future, whether the source of the threat is Israel, Iran or any [other] element.”
Jordanians have sturdy sympathy for Palestinians. Together with an estimated three million Palestinian refugees, greater than half the inhabitants in Jordan is of Palestinian origin and native Jordanians have a powerful solidarity with Palestine.
Some accounts on social media labelled Jordan’s King Abdullah “a traitor” for his nation’s position in capturing down Iran’s drones.
Jordan’s actions additionally initially introduced the ire of Iran. Fars Information Company, which the IRGC manages, stated Iran’s armed forces threatened that Jordan may very well be a future goal in the event that they intervene with Iran’s army operations in opposition to Israel.
“The Iranians actually went after the Jordanians and the king and his family very aggressively,” Vali Nasr, professor of worldwide affairs and Center East research at Johns Hopkins College within the US, advised Al Jazeera.
The 2 events shortly buried the hatchet, with Iran’s Mehr Information saying Safadi advised Iran’s International Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian by cellphone that Israel wouldn’t “abuse its airspace”.
“On Sunday [April 14], the Revolutionary Guard proclaimed Jordan as a potential target as it saw the Hashemite Kingdom as collaborating with Israel, but on Monday [April 15], the Iranian Foreign Ministry smoothed over any ruffled feathers, calling Jordan a diplomatic partner and an ordinary state which had normal relations with Iran,” Yom stated.
The truth is, this incident may result in hotter relations between Jordan and Iran. The 2 have mentioned normalisation up to now and Nasr believes this incident might have acted as an accelerant.
“I think the Jordanians, much like the Saudis, will come to the conclusion that ultimately having zero relations with Iran does not really defend their interest,” he stated.
Jordan’s tight spot
“Jordan may suffer collateral damage [in the event of a wider war],” Yom stated. “It could suffer physical destruction, as well as economic injury from the loss of tourism revenues and potential trade flows.”
Within the early hours of April 19, US officers claimed that an assault inside Iran had been carried out by Israel.
Explosions had been heard in Isfahan and Iranian authorities stated three drones had been downed however gave no credence to it being an exterior assault, saying solely that an investigation can be launched. Israel didn’t declare accountability.
Safadi took to social media the identical day, posting: “We warn against the danger of regional escalation. We condemn all actions that threaten dragging the region into war… Israeli-Iranian retaliations must end… The focus of the world must remain on ending the catastrophic aggression on Gaza.”
However for the Jordanian authorities, makes an attempt at reaching some type of calm within the area haven’t yielded a lot.
“[T]here is considerable frustration that allies like the US support Jordan’s national defence, but continually counter its policy preferences and its advice, by failing to secure a ceasefire, failing to prevent regional escalation, failing to get more aid to Palestinians suffering in Gaza, and then even being the sole veto in the vote for Palestinian statehood at the United Nations,” Curtis Ryan, creator of three books about Jordan, advised Al Jazeera.
“The king finds Netanyahu an impossible interlocutor,” stated Jose Ciro Martinez, an professional on Jordan at York College in the UK.
Home troubles
“I think most Jordanians are upset that the kingdom is caught in the crossfire of regional conflict – one they didn’t ask for and one they don’t want to escalate,” Yom stated.
A Jordanian researcher, who monitored the protests and requested anonymity, stated most individuals weren’t shocked by their state’s response to the Iranian response, contemplating the shut safety ties with the US and Israel.
Some have even began promoting missile fragments on a web-based market.
Protesters didn’t flock to the streets over the downing of Iranian drones. Whereas some criticised the federal government on social media, many of the frustration was directed elsewhere.
“Some criticised the government for cooperating with the US and Israel in shooting down the Iranian missiles and drones,” Yom stated.
“But publicly, most lay the blame on Netanyahu’s government since the Israeli state is the actor that bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, not to mention the genocide in Gaza.”
Nonetheless, Jordan’s home scenario can have the monarchy on edge. Even earlier than October 7, the nation was going through quite a few challenges on its borders and domestically.
The economic system, which took a significant dive through the COVID-19 pandemic and had been slowly rebounding, was hit “massively” by the latest warfare, Ibrahim Saif, a senior fellow on the Center East Institute and former Jordanian minister, advised Al Jazeera.
“We have witnessed severe slowdown in some economic activities that impact Jordan directly and indirectly,” he stated, mentioning tourism and the paradox surrounding the personal sector.
“Now you can add the threats to cutting [funding for] UNRWA [the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] which serves at least one million people in Jordan. All of that has resulted in huge pressure on the Jordanian economy that also translates to politics.”
All eyes will now be on Rafah in Gaza, the place residents worry a floor invasion by the Israeli military could also be imminent.
Ought to that come to go, protesters may descend to the streets once more.
Whereas protesters peacefully took to the streets in entrance of the Israeli embassy on Friday in solidarity with the folks and resistance of Gaza, the power of protests, notably throughout Ramadan, has subsided, analysts and observers stated.
Often violent crackdowns and arrests, paired with what some analysts known as protest fatigue or despair, might have discouraged them.
“Normally, if the protests are domestic, the king will replace a prime minister. But he can’t offer the protesters anything this time,” Martinez stated. “When [the monarchy] has nothing to offer is when they start to arrest people.”
Jordan’s safety forces have expertise in managing protests. Using arrests and occasional violence has taken the wind out of a few of the demonstrations up to now, and the longer protests keep it up, safety forces will hope that contributors will lose hope and go house. That, analysts and observers say, has began to occur.
“Protest fatigue has set in, as authorities have tolerated relentless popular mobilisation for months,” Yom stated. “Many activists are resigned with a profound sense of despair that their actions are not going to change the situation.”