Jordan and Syria concerned over Iran groups’ presence
Jordan and Syria’s foreign ministers have expressed concern over their border security amid the threat of pro-Iran groups’ increasing presence and funding of an illicit weapons trade, according to The National and agencies on May 14th.
Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ayman Safadi, met Syrian foreign minister Faisal Mekdad at an Arab League meeting in Bahrain.
In an official statement Jordan said, “They went over the outcome of contacts…between the two countries to stop smuggling operations and deflect their danger.”
Since 2018, border regions under the control of the Syrian military and Iranian-backed militias have served as primary routes for illegal drugs and weapons smuggling.
Iran has also been accused by Western sources of transferring these weapons to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
READ: Iran tried to smuggle weapons into West Bank, claims Israel
Following October 7th Israel has been closely monitoring pro-Iran groups based in the West Bank, conducting increased raids against the militias.
A Palestinian security official said, “They have not engaged in any serious activity against Israel but they have provided the excuse for Israel for its devastating [West Bank] incursions”.
Amid Syria’s civil war in 2011, Iran bolstered the Syrian government forces to maintain a Shiite influence in the country and squash Sunni opposition.
READ: Israel targets pro-Iranian militia in Damascus
Both Syria and Iran have denied their role in illegal smuggling.
But towards the end of 2023, Jordan authorities began intensifying operations in the border regions, targeting unidentified arms and drug dealers.
Jordan is dependent on the US for aid and security. The US and its Western allies have invested hundreds of millions to strengthen the kingdom’s desert border with Syria.
Since October 7th, Jordanian politicians and officials have voiced concern over Iran looking to expand its influence in the kingdom.
“It is in Iran’s interest to build a ring of instability around Israel,” he said. “I am not sure it has the tools to do that in Jordan”, said an Amman-based diplomat.
Waiel Olwan, a senior researcher at the Jusoor Centre for Studies in Istanbul, noted that the issue of weapons smuggling has eclipsed drug trafficking to become Jordan’s main source of tension with Damascus.
“The weapons could go to the West Bank, and more worryingly to sleeper cells that Iran could attempt to form in Jordan,” Olwan said, adding that it was partially responsible for the delayed normalisation between the two countries.
The National / Agencies
