Despite its interception of Iranian missiles, as part of an alliance with the Americans, this did not spare Jordan from a hint from President Donald Trump, who said during his reception of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun: “Something managed to cross Jordan.”
It is worth noting that the Kingdom's military activity has secured for Oman, at the level of American institutions, a desired shift in the field of customs exemptions, and talk of openness to renewing the trade and exchange agreement between the two countries. This duality in the positions of the American administration towards Jordan coincides with “confused, vague and incomprehensible presidential statements, the aim of which is to create tension,” according to Palestinian-American political analyst Sinan Shaqdih.
Shaqdih pointed out that Trump’s statement contained criticism and doubt regarding Jordan, due to the killing of 3 American soldiers inside Jordanian territory by shrapnel from an Iranian missile.
This is despite the fact that the Trump administration knows that Jordanian institutions have no connection to the movement and operations of any American soldiers working on Jordanian soil, by virtue of the signed security agreement and its annexes, and under defense cooperation protocols.
As U.S. Central Command generals know, Jordanian security obligations do not extend to the operations of any U.S. military facility along Jordan's borders with Iraq and Syria. Therefore, the security and protection of U.S. troops falls under the purview of U.S. Central Command.
Only the Israelis express security concerns about Iraqi Shiite factions or cells affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard infiltrating the borders of occupied Palestine. According to an expert, this narrative is a well-known Israeli lie.
Therefore, Trump’s suggestion of a security breach through which something of Iranian origin passed, according to Shaqdih, is misleading and contradicts the facts, which opens the door to searching for a political objective behind Trump’s statement. In this context, activist Muhammad Al-Hadid believes there is nothing preventing a link between Trump’s statement and the scenario of the Israeli right wing and its government, which is trying to justify distributing weapons to settlers in the Jordan Valley region on the Jordanian border under the pretext of the “eastern front” which is prone to ignition.
Only the Israelis express security concerns about Iraqi Shiite factions or cells affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard infiltrating the borders of occupied Palestine. According to Jordanian military expert Nidal Abu Zeid, this narrative is a well-known Israeli lie.
But what is new, and what Shaqdih fears, is that the American president is engaging in this lie when he speaks of something that managed to cross the border, resulting in the deaths of three soldiers. Trump then claims, in a further fallacy, that the soldiers' deaths would not have occurred had the Americans handled the matter. In reality, it is the Americans who are handling all matters related to the American military presence in the region.
Trump’s remarks, which weaken Oman’s strategy of ensuring that Jordanian geography does not become a stage for conflict between Iran, the US, and Israel, prompted consultations with the friendly British institution in an attempt to understand what the US president and the Israeli right wing are planning, especially after indications emerged of a direct and imminent entry of the Houthis in Yemen towards the lines of military and security engagement in a new element that raises concerns even at the level of the official Arab system.
The primary concern for Jordanian officials is the possibility that the Trump administration will adopt the Israeli narrative on the eastern front. Consequently, it might require a larger military presence, which would be embarrassing for the Jordanian government.
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