London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Jordan Says King's Sibling Part Of Plot That Extends Beyond Borders

Jordan Says King's Sibling Part Of Plot That Extends Beyond Borders

The crackdown comes as Jordan struggles with a worsening squeeze on its finances and a resurgence of Covid-19 cases that has prompted the government to renew restrictions on movement.

Jordan said it uncovered a plot to destabilize the kingdom that involved King Abdullah II's half-brother and extended beyond the country's borders.

The sibling, former Crown Prince Hamza Bin Hussein, worked in concert with foreign entities, Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi said on Sunday, in a first official explanation of a string of arrests a day earlier. More than 16 people, including at least one other royal, were taken into custody, he said at a news conference in the capital, Amman.

"There was an effort to target Jordan's security and stability, this effort was foiled," he said, giving no evidence to back up his claims. He declined to say whether the unidentified foreign entities were people or governments, and if any money was paid to those involved in the alleged plot.

The crackdown comes as Jordan struggles with a worsening squeeze on its finances and a resurgence of Covid-19 cases that has prompted the government to renew restrictions on movement. The U.S. most recently provided the Middle East kingdom with $700 million in August.

"We are closely following the reports and in touch with Jordanian officials," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement late Saturday. "King Abdullah is a key partner of the United States, and he has our full support."

Jordan's stability is crucial to the region as it sits at the crossroads of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It's home to as many as 2 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants, and chaos there could endanger the security of Israel, with which it shares a frontier and made peace in 1994. Bordering both Syria and Iraq, the kingdom has also fashioned itself as a force for moderation in a turbulent neighborhood.

Security personnel and armored vehicles were seen parked outside royal palaces and patrolling the Dabouq neighborhood of the capital, Amman, on Saturday. The Washington Post said earlier that Hamza, the eldest son of the late King Hussein and his fourth wife Queen Noor, was under house arrest at his palace in Amman. It cited a senior Middle East intelligence official briefed on the events as saying there was an ongoing investigation into an alleged plot to unseat King Abdullah, Hamza's older half-brother.

Hamza was the crown prince for four years before the title was transferred in 2004 to the current king's eldest son, Hussein. He has occupied various roles, including brigadier in the Jordanian army. In a six-minute video provided to the BBC by his lawyer, he said he was "not part of any conspiracy."

Support From Allies


"I had a visit from chief of general staff of the Jordanian armed forces this morning in which he informed me that I was not allowed to go out, to communicate with people or to meet with them because in the meetings that I had been present in -- or on social media relating to visits that I had made -- there had been criticism of the government or the king," Hamza said in the video. He added that his Internet and phone lines had been cut.

On Twitter, Hamza's mother, Queen Noor called the incidents a "wicked slander".

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Major General Yousef Huneiti on Saturday denied claims about the arrest of Hamza and said the prince was merely asked to stop "movements and activities that are used to target" the security and stability of Jordan. He added that the move was part of joint investigations undertaken by security agencies, as a result of which Hasan Bin Zeid, a member of the royal family, along with several others, including Bassem Awadallah, a former cabinet minister, were arrested.

The army chief indicated that the investigations were ongoing and their results will be announced "with full transparency and clarity."

Awadallah, who holds a doctorate from the London School of Economics and Political Science, has served in various positions in Jordan, including economic secretary to the prime minister, minister of finance and head of the royal court. Until 2018, he was King Abdullah's personal envoy to Saudi Arabia, where he was close to Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt and other Arab states joined the U.S. in expressing support for King Abdullah.

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz called Jordan's King Abdullah II, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke with both the king and with Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah, according to the SPA news agency.

"The Kingdom stands and its full solidarity with the sisterly Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Kingdom's support for all the measures that His Majesty takes to preserve the security of Jordan and maintain its stability," King Salman was quoted as saying.

"The Biden administration would view the potential of a failed state as detrimental to regional stability," said Ayham Kamel, the New York-based head of Eurasia Group's Middle East and Africa research team. "The Israeli security establishment would not look favorably toward any real instability in Jordan that triggers a Palestinian crisis."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×