Jordan’s prime minister warns against threat of ‘political opportunism’ and external loyalties

Jordan’s Prime Minister Jafar Hassan speaking during a Cabinet meeting in Ajloun. (Petra)
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Updated 22 April 2025
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Jordan’s prime minister warns against threat of ‘political opportunism’ and external loyalties

  • Jafar Hassan’s comments follow arrest of 16 people accused of planning acts of chaos and sabotage, and seizures of missiles, explosives and firearms
  • ‘Nothing transcends Jordan’s interests’ and there is no tolerance for ‘subversive elements seeking to propagate instability and impede national progress,’ he says

LONDON: Jordan’s Prime Minister Jafar Hassan cautioned on Tuesday against acts of “political opportunism” and any activities that might undermine public safety.

Speaking during a Cabinet meeting in Ajloun, he said: “The Jordanian state’s forbearance cannot be subjected to testing, nor can any entity prevail against it through performative displays or populist demagoguery, or jeopardize public welfare for any cause whatsoever,” the Jordan News Agency reported.

“Nothing transcends Jordan’s interests” and there is “no space for external loyalties or subversive elements seeking to propagate instability and impede national progress,” he added.

“Within Jordan’s borders, sovereignty is exclusively vested in constitutional legitimacy, with authority concentrated solely in state institutions and our independent judiciary.”

The prime minister’s comments came a week after Jordanian authorities said they foiled a series of plots that threatened the country’s national security. They arrested 16 people accused of planning acts of chaos and sabotage, and seized weapons including missiles, explosives and firearms.

Hassan said national unity is essential to the country’s strength and any attempt to compromise it “constitutes direct opposition to Jordan’s national interests and its citizenry.”


Morocco’s king accepts invitation to join Trump ‘peace board’: statement

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Morocco’s king accepts invitation to join Trump ‘peace board’: statement

RABAT: Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has accepted US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join his “Board of Peace” as a founding member, the Moroccan foreign ministry said on Monday.
“Welcoming President Donald Trump’s commitment and vision to promoting peace,” the monarch “has graciously accepted this invitation,” the ministry said in a statement published by MAP news agency, adding the country would “ratify the charter establishing this board.”
The US-led initiative aims to “contribute to peace efforts in the Middle East and adopt a new approach to resolving conflicts around the world,” it said.
The board was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza, but its charter does not appear to limit its role to the Palestinian territory.
The board’s charter, seen by AFP, says that member countries — represented on the board by their head of state or government — would be allowed to join for three years or longer if they paid more than $1 billion within the first year.
The White House has asked various world leaders to sit on the board, chaired by Trump himself, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hungarian premier Viktor Orban and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The initial reaction from two key allies, France and Canada, was lukewarm.
Others who have received invitations to join the new board, such as Putin, have not yet announced whether they will accept.