Jordan’s King Abdullah II will meet with US President Donald Trump on February 11 at the White House. The visit comes as Trump’s controversial call for the relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to Jordan and Egypt continues to face strong opposition across the region. Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi reaffirmed Amman’s opposition to any displacement of Palestinians, saying on January 26 that the country’s position remains “firm and unwavering.” (Read more at Media Line)
“The Secretary and King Abdullah discussed implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, the release of hostages, and creating a pathway for security and stability in the region,” the State Department said in a statement. Trump’s weekend remarks were not mentioned in the statement. “Secretary Rubio thanked Jordan for supporting the ceasefire through its integral role in providing humanitarian assistance through the Jordan Corridor,” the State Department added (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Jordan’s King Abdullah in the Red Sea town of Aqaba on Thursday as he arrived in the region for talks on Syria following the ousting of Bashar Al-Assad, Reuters has reported. He will also meet Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi today before heading for Turkiye (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
Ayman Safadi, Jordan's Foreign Minister, used meetings between the US and Arab countries in London to warn that the Middle East "stands at the brink of a regional war". He said the "only path to save the region from that" was for Israel to stop its "aggressions" to the north and south. In strongly-worded comments, Mr Safadi said Israel's war on two fronts and "illegal measures" in the West Bank were "pushing the situation to an abyss". He said mediators trying to broker a ceasefire were trying to "get through the nightmare that the region continues to live in" (Read more at The National).
Jafar Hassan, now head of King Abdullah’s office and a former planning minister, replaces Bisher Khasawneh, a veteran diplomat and former palace adviser who was appointed nearly four years ago. Harvard-educated Hassan is a widely respected technocrat. He will face the challenges of mitigating the impact of the Gaza war on the kingdom’s economy, hard-hit by curbs to investment and a sharp drop in tourism (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
In a statement, the White House said Biden briefed Abdullah on "preparations for a surge in humanitarian assistance during a ceasefire period." They also discussed reforms to the Palestinian Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and ensuring it has access to revenue. Abdullah reaffirmed "the important role of the United States in creating a political horizon to achieve just and lasting peace on the basis of the two-state solution." (Read more at USNews).
Sikorsky has received a $251.4-million contract to produce UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters for Jordan and Croatia, scheduled for completion by June 2027. The choppers are expected to boost the ability of both countries to conduct cargo and personnel transport, border security, counterterrorism, and search and rescue missions (Read more at Defense Post).
The drills, named Eager Lion, set to to help fight “terrorist organizations” and respond to “the proliferation of drones, and biological, chemical and nuclear weapons of mass destruction. The exercise is “the largest” since the first “Eager Lion” edition in 2011 (Read more at Defense Post).
More than 13,080 meal equivalents of Jordanian food supplies were delivered, while the US provided over 25,000 Meals Ready to Eat. According to CENTCOM's estimates, the US has airdropped approximately 1,110 tons of humanitarian assistance into Gaza thus far (Read more at Breaking the News).
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Sunday sought to play down warnings, telling US media that Israel has “agreed to listen to US concerns” before moving into Gaza's last enclave of relative respite (Read more at The National).
Furthermore, the Arab countries opened their airspace to fighter jets, shared radar surveillance information or, in some cases, provided their own forces to help. Jordan said it would allow U.S. and other countries' warplanes to use its airspace, even using its own aircraft to help intercept the Iranian threats (Read more at I24).
