Jordan’s cold peace and warm security with Israel

A strong, stable Jordanian government has become a critical partner in countering Iran’s efforts to establish a military presence on Israel’s eastern flank and destabilize the region.

By: Joseph Puder

November 6, 2025

Although the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has a cold peace with Israel, the relationship between the Jordanian and Israeli security services is rather warm. A stable Jordan is key to Israel’s line of defense. Israel’s border with Jordan is its longest, about 300 miles, and being peaceful enables Israel to focus on other critical arenas, such as the border with Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip. 

There is, however, more to the relationship, one that is active in the shadows rather than in the open. Israel provides Jordan with water, energy and security. Then, there are the pro-Muslim Brotherhood states of Qatar, Turkey, and, especially, the Islamic Republic of Iran that sought, and still seek, to destabilize the Jordanian monarchy by supporting the strong Muslim Brotherhood cells in the kingdom.

Reuters reported on May 15, 2024, that “Jordan has foiled a suspected Iranian-led plot to smuggle weapons into the U.S.-allied kingdom, to help opponents of the ruling monarchy carry out acts of sabotage. The weapons were sent by Iranian-backed militias in Syria to a cell of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan that has links to the military wing of the Palestinian group Hamas.”

The Jordanian Hashemite monarchy has its origin in the Hijaz, today’s western Saudi Arabia, along the Red Sea. The Hashemites ruled the Hijaz until 1925 but lost the territory to the Saud clan, which later became Saudi Arabia. The Hashemites, direct descendants of the Prophet Mohammad’s family, allied with the British during World War I.

In 1920, the British government cut off the eastern portion of the Palestine Mandate, east of the Jordan River. The land (eastern and western portions) was recognized by the 1917 Balfour Declaration as the historic homeland of the Jews; this position was confirmed by the League of Nations and validated at the San Remo Conference in April 1920. However, in 1921, Winston Churchill, then colonial secretary, sliced off 77% of the Palestine Mandate to create the Emirate of Transjordan, with Abdullah as emir, and later, king. In 1922, Jordan was forbidden to Jewish settlement. Israel’s territory today of 8,016 square miles is less than a quarter of Jordan’s size of 34,507 square miles.

While King Abdullah, who was assassinated by a Palestinian Arab, and his grandson Hussein had relatively warm relations with Israel (albeit secretive), the current King Abdullah II is saddled with a majority Palestinian population that largely denounces the peace with Israel established in 1994. The Palestinians in Jordan comprise about 70% of the population; Jordanian Queen Rania is also of Palestinian origin. It forces Abdullah often to appear hostile to Israel, as, akin to Egypt, he continues to maintain a cold peace.

Nevertheless, during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in June, Jordan intercepted missiles and drones launched by the Islamic Republic towards Israel. Amman was not deterred by warnings from Tehran.

In January 2024, a drone attack by Iranian-backed militias killed three American soldiers at the Tower 22 base in Jordan near the Syrian border. The attack also injured at least 34 other soldiers and marked the first time that U.S. service members were killed by hostile fire since the start of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza that began after the terror group’s invasion on Oct. 7, 2023. This incident made it clear to Washington that Jordan is a front line in the struggle against Iran’s penetration attempts.

Iran, which sees Jordan as a U.S. ally, is not the only state seeking to undermine the country. Qatar and Turkey, which are also engaged in campaigns to destabilize the monarchy, are funding anti-monarchy NGOs, media and exiled groups identified with Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Notably, Jordan recently officially outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, citing a plot to destabilize the country that involved weapons and drones. The ban includes the confiscation of the group’s assets and followed the arrest of 16 members linked to the alleged plot. It also had consequences for the Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing, the Islamic Action Front, which was the largest party in Jordan’s parliament.

The Syrian civil war caused approximately 1.3 million Syrian refugees to move to Jordan, representing nearly 10% of Jordan’s population. In contrast with other Arab states, including Lebanon, where Palestinian refugee camps became hotbeds for radicalism and extremism, Amman turned the refugee crisis into a policy of economic enterprise by enabling the refugees to become active participants in the economy.  Tehran and the previous Assad regime tried to use the refugees as a way to put pressure on Jordan, but that effort failed.

The Jordanian kingdom works with the United States and Israeli forces to thwart Iranian attempts to smuggle advanced weapons, such as rockets and explosives, across its territory, many of which are intended for Palestinian militant groups in the West Bank.

Clearly, a strong, stable Jordanian government has become a critical partner in countering Iran’s efforts to establish a military presence on Israel’s eastern flank and destabilize the region. Israel’s deterrence and Jordan’s stability go hand in hand in creating a unified, though not always visible, relationship.