Jordan has charged 16 people linked to the Muslim Brotherhood with “targeting national security, sowing chaos and sabotage within Jordan”, authorities have said.
Jordanian authorities said those arrested and charged had received training and financial aid in Lebanon.
Security officials said the plot was linked to Iran and its allies’ clandestine efforts to recruit agents to carry out acts of sabotage within the kingdom to destabilise one of Washington’s allies in the region.
On Tuesday night, Jordanian television broadcast what it described as taped confessions of eight suspects admitting involvement in the case and receiving foreign funds.
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It was alleged that the plotters – who were monitored since 2021 according to authorities – had assembled an arsenal of explosives, firearms and rockets and planned to build drones.
Security forces found a rocket manufacturing facility alongside a drone factory, according to a statement by the general intelligence department released on state media.
Government spokesman Mohammed Momani said the rockets have a range of 3 to 5km, making it obvious they were to be used within the kingdom.
“We are talking about new tactics, rockets and drones. This means a complete change in the way the Muslim Brotherhood deals with Jordan and targeting its security,” said security analyst Amer Al Sabaileh.
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, in a statement denied any links to the alleged plot.
Founded in Egypt in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood has multiple branches and offshoots across the region. It is banned by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Qatar and Turkey have backed the movement.
In 1957, the Muslim Brotherhood became a mainstay of the monarchy after pro-republican military officers attempted a coup against King Hussein, father of Jordan’s current King Abdullah.
While the Muslim Brotherhood was dissolved in Jordan in 2020, its political arm, the Islamic Action Front remains the most potent political party in the country. In September, it became the largest parliamentary party by winning 31 of 138 seats.
The Muslim Brotherhood advocates “change” in Jordanian politics, support for its Hamas offshoot, and an end to the kingdom’s 1994 peace treaty with Israel.
Since the war on Gaza was launched after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, 2023, the Muslim Brotherhood has mounted mass demonstrations against Israel and demanded the withdrawal of 3,500 US troops from Jordan.
Jordan’s faltering economy, high unemployment, corruption and failure to implement economic and political reforms have produced widespread resentment, even among tribesmen who, along with the Muslim Brotherhood, had backed the Hashemite monarchy.
The most recent challenge to King Abdullah came in April 2021 when his half-brother, Prince Hamzah, other leading figures and tribal leaders were arrested for plotting to put Hamzah on the throne. – Additional reporting: Reuters
