By Al-Fassel | 2024-05-16

An Iranian-led plot to smuggle weapons into Jordan in order to carry out unspecified "acts of sabotage" was thwarted in March when the kingdom's security forces seized the arms cache during a raid, Jordanian sources said.

Two Jordanian sources with knowledge of the matter said Iran-backed cells in Syria sent the weapons to a Jordanian cell linked to Hamas, Reuters reported in a May 15 exclusive.

The weapons were seized in late March when cell members -- Jordanians of Palestinian descent -- were arrested, they said.

The objective was to destabilize Jordan, the sources said, noting that ongoing investigations and covert operations prevented them from revealing further details about the planned actions of the cell.

The incident comes amid an uptick in armed cross-border weapons and drug-smuggling operations.

On December 18, the Jordanian army said it had foiled a plot by dozens of infiltrators from Syria linked to Iran-aligned militias, who crossed the border with rocket launchers, mines and explosives, Reuters reported.

Jordan defends its borders

On the night of April 13, the Royal Jordanian Air Force shot down dozens of Iranian drones as they flew over the kingdom on their way to Israel, Al-Jazeera reported.

The Jordanian government said it was defending its national borders.

Iran launched a barrage of more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel in retaliation for an alleged Israeli strike in Damascus, in which a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander was killed.

"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 Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said at the time.

In an April 1 post on Telegram, Kataib Hizbullah "security chief" Abu Ali al-Askari claimed the so-called Islamic Resistance in Iraq was prepared to arm 12,000 fighters in Jordan, against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war.

The Iran-backed militia was ready to send millions of rounds of ammunition, "tons of explosives, anti-armor missile launchers, tactical missiles and light and medium weapons," he said.

In an interview with Al-Hadath TV, Jordan's former Minister of Information Samih al-Maaytah warned that Iran "has an agenda and is trying to create tentacles and influence for itself in Jordan through a militia, people, or any method."

Iran "has been trying for 40 years to penetrate the Jordanian arena just as it has penetrated other arenas through its militias," he said, adding that Jordan "will continue to be an impossible knot to untie for Iran."