MPs and Parties: Jordan’s Security is a Red Line.. and Will Not Be an Arena for Regional Conflicts

House of Representatives Speaker Mazen Al-Qadi affirmed his strong backing of the Jordanian Armed Forces – the Arab Army, and the security agencies in facing any threat targeting the Kingdom's security, sovereignty, and the safety of its citizens.

He stated that the heinous Iranian missile aggression against the Kingdom is rejected by all standards and justifications that Tehran attempts to promote, stressing that targeting Jordanian territory and airspace cannot be dealt with except as an aggression against the homeland, and emphasizing that any attempt to justify targeting the Kingdom under any title is rejected wholly and in detail.

Al-Qadi affirmed the House of Representatives' solidarity behind His Majesty King Abdullah II, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, in not allowing the Kingdom's airspace to be breached, and rejecting Jordan becoming a battlefield, as the safety of the Kingdom and its citizens is above all considerations, stressing at the same time that dialogue and political solutions are the way to spare the region further escalation.

He added that the Jordanian Armed Forces – the Arab Army have always proven to be the impregnable shield of the Kingdom and the capable force to protect its skies, land, and people, praising the high readiness of the air defense systems and the efforts exerted by army personnel in countering threats and protecting citizens.

Al-Qadi emphasized that Jordan refuses to turn its territory or airspace into an arena for conflict, and will not accept that the security of Jordanians and the sovereignty of the Kingdom be the price for any regional calculations.

He added that the Kingdom's sovereignty and national security are a red line, affirming that the unity of Jordanians and the cohesion of their internal front are the strongest weapon in facing challenges.

He stressed that targeting Jordan and the Arab Gulf states poses a direct threat to Arab national security and regional and international stability, and represents a dangerous escalation that would expand the circle of conflict and threaten the security of Arab peoples and states and their vital interests.

He said that the security of Jordan and the Arab Gulf states is interconnected and indivisible, and that any aggression targeting a sisterly Arab state is an aggression against the Arab security and stability system, affirming Jordan's standing by its brothers in the Gulf states and its rejection of any attempt to undermine their security or threaten their sovereignty.

The head of the Centrist Parties Coalition parliamentary bloc, MP Zuhair Al-Khushman, condemned in the strongest terms the missile aggression launched from Iranian territory toward the Kingdom, affirming that what happened is not a passing incident nor a mere geographical extension of a regional conflict, but rather a direct and deliberate violation of the sovereignty of an independent state, and a serious تجاوز (transgression) of the rules of international law and the principles of good neighborliness.

Al-Khushman said that the attempt to justify the aggression under the pretext of targeting foreign interests or forces inside the Kingdom is rejected in form and substance; because determining what exists on Jordanian soil, and how Jordan's defensive relations are managed, is an exclusive sovereign right of the Jordanian state, and does not grant any regional or international party a mandate to launch a single missile toward its soil.

He added that a missile crossing the border toward a target inside the Kingdom is an aggression against Jordan, regardless of the identity of the target announced by the aggressor, stressing that state sovereignty cannot be divided according to the narratives of warring parties, and that the security of Jordanians cannot be reduced to a margin of confrontation between Tehran and Washington.

Al-Khushman affirmed that Jordan has never been a platform for aggression against others, but in return, it will not accept to be turned into an arena for settling scores or a post office for exchanged fires, explaining that the Kingdom's policy based on balance and preventing escalation does not mean complacency, and that Jordanian wisdom is not weakness, self-restraint is not interpreted as helplessness, and national sovereignty is not a subject open to testing.

Al-Khushman praised the exceptional efficiency and high readiness of the Jordanian Armed Forces – the Arab Army, after the air defense systems confronted twenty ballistic missiles and intercepted and destroyed eighteen of them, affirming that protecting Jordanian airspace is not alignment with one party against another, but rather a constitutional and sovereign duty to protect citizens' lives and state security.

He pointed out that the success of the air defenses does not diminish the gravity of the aggression, but rather reveals the magnitude of the danger to which cities and population concentrations could have been exposed had it not been for the vigilance and competence of the Arab Army, warning that the continued launching of missiles toward the Kingdom opens a very dangerous door to expanding the circle of confrontation and threatening the security of the entire region.

Al-Khushman stressed that Jordan has the right to take all political, diplomatic, and defensive measures that guarantee the protection of its land and airspace, demanding the establishment of a clear national, Arab, and international stance that holds Iran fully responsible for this aggression, and prevents dealing with it as a passing detail in a larger conflict; for a state whose sovereignty is violated is not a margin in others' battle, but rather a party that has suffered a full-fledged aggression.

He affirmed that Jordan, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein, possesses an independent national decision and a firm defense doctrine, and will not allow any power to draw the paths of its missiles over its skies or impose upon it a position in a conflict it did not choose.

Al-Khushman concluded by saying: “Our message to everyone is clear: Jordan wants peace and does not fear confrontation, exercises wisdom from a position of strength, but will not accept that its land becomes a target, its airspace a corridor, or its people's security a card in any country's calculations. Jordan's sovereignty is a red line, the Arab Army is capable of protecting it, and the Jordanian state knows how to safeguard its rights and deter everyone who aggresses against it.”

For its part, the Change Party condemned in the strongest and harshest terms the Iranian missile aggression that targeted Jordanian territory, in a blatant aggression and serious violation of the Kingdom's sovereignty and a direct threat to the security and safety of Jordanians.

It stated that “Jordan is not an arena for settling scores, nor a corridor for any country's missiles, and whatever the pretexts marketed by Iran, targeting Jordanian territory remains a full-fledged aggression that cannot be justified or downplayed in its gravity.”

The party affirms that this behavior reveals a rogue state that does not respect state sovereignty nor the lives of its peoples, and that the danger posed by Iran to Jordan's security is no less today than the danger of the Israeli occupation state, as both threaten the Kingdom's security and stability, endanger the lives of citizens, and seek to drag the region toward chaos and destruction.

The Change Party expresses its utmost pride and glory in the Jordanian Armed Forces – the Arab Army, the shield of the homeland and its impregnable fence, and the falcons of the Royal Air Force and Air Defense who were up to the responsibility, confronted the aggression with efficiency and competence, and protected Jordan's skies and the lives of its sons.

The party affirms that our Arab army will remain the first line of defense, and the strong hand that protects the Kingdom's sovereignty and deters anyone who attempts to tamper with its security. The party calls for a firm Jordanian political, diplomatic, and legal stance commensurate with the gravity of the aggression, and for a clear Arab and international movement to hold the Iranian regime accountable and prevent the recurrence of these aggressions.