Jordanian authorities announced on Tuesday that they detained 16 people in connection with a “sabotage” plot that included manufacturing drones and rockets.
The General Intelligence Department said it had “foiled plans aimed at targeting national security, sowing chaos and sabotage within Jordan.” A total of 16 individuals were detained after being monitored since 2021, the official news agency Petra cited the department as saying.
The plans, authorities said, relate to manufacturing rockets and drones, possession of explosives and firearms and recruiting operatives in Jordan and abroad, Petra reported.
Government spokesperson Mohammad Al Mawmouni said the detainees were affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that has been officially dissolved in Jordan. Some of the accused said in a video aired on local television that they were recruited by the organization, Bloomberg reported.
The Muslim Brotherhood is a pan-Islamist organization that has been outlawed in several Arab states. In Jordan, the Islamic Action Front political party is affiliated with the group.
Tuesday’s news adds to a number of security threats that Jordan has seen in recent years. In May, Reuters reported that Jordan thwarted an Iran-linked plot to smuggle weapons into the kingdom.
Abu Ali al-Askari, the security head of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia in Iraq, threatened Jordan last April, saying in a Telegram post that the group is “prepared to arm” 12,000 fighters in the kingdom.
Later that month, Jordan summoned the Iranian ambassador after comments in Iranian media suggested the kingdom would be the “next target” if it helps Israel against the Islamic Republic. The escalation came after Jordan shot down drones that entered its airspace during Iran’s April 2024 strikes on Israel. Amman said it also intercepted drones and missiles during a similar Iranian attack in October.
In January 2024, a drone strike from the pro-Iran Islamic Resistance of Iraq killed three US soldiers at a military outpost in northeast Jordan, close to the Syrian border. The attack occurred amid the militia’s response to the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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