Jordan’s General Intelligence Department (GID) announced on Tuesday, April 15 that it foiled a plot which aimed at “targeting national security, sowing chaos, sabotaging and causing material damage” within the country.
The GID published a statement containing detailed information about the plot, clarifying that it arrested a cell involving 16 suspects after closely monitoring their activities since 2021.
The suspects were allegedly involved in manufacturing and illegally importing short-range rockets (3 to 5 kilometers), concealing a rocket ready to be deployed, and the possession of explosives and automatic weapons, in addition to drone manufacturing projects. Plans to recruit and train operatives in Jordan and Lebanon were also part of the scheme.
Government details plot and Brotherhood ties
Shortly after the GID published its statement, Mohammad Momani, spokesperson for the Jordanian government, appeared in a press conference and provided further details about the plot. Momani revealed that the suspects have political affiliations to what he called “unlicensed dissolved groups” and that some of them received training and funds from abroad.
The senior official ruled out attributing the plot to any recent regional events, noting that it had been planned over a span of four years. “It is evident that they are part of a broader, organized agenda that is not linked to particular events,” he emphasized.
Momani pointed out that the range of the seized rockets, which varied from 3 to 5 kilometers, clearly indicates that the suspects were planning to use them within the Jordanian territories and “target Jordan and its sovereignty.”
The press conference was followed by a video aired on Jordan’s state-run TV channel, showing confessions of main members of the cell, who acknowledged their affiliation to the Muslim Brotherhood.
One of the members stated that the suggestion of rocket manufacturing inside Jordan was brought up to him in 2021 by a member of the Muslim Brotherhood called Ibrahim Mohammad.
Ibrahim allegedly arranged visits for members of the cell to Lebanon, where they met the “organizational official” named Abu Ahmad in the capital Beirut, and received training there, as they planned the plot.
The video further revealed that the cell had different sites to execute its work in different Jordanian governorates, including a factory equipped with a manual lathe machine, a CNC machine in Zarqa governorate, and a warehouse in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
Muslim Brotherhood vs Jordanian state: A complicated relationship
The relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Jordanian state has always gone through fluctuations. According to The Italian Institute for International Political Studies, the group has played a consistent political role since the country gained its independence from Britain in 1946.
For years, the Muslim Brotherhood adhered to a non-violent strategy, maintaining its relationship with the Hashemite monarchy – particularly under the reign of King Hussein – and became an integral part of the state-building process. Nevertheless, pressure on the group has been growing since King Abdallah II assumed the throne in 1999, as it was considered too powerful.
In 2020, Jordan’s Court of Cassation ruled that the Muslim Brotherhood should be dissolved “for failing to rectify its legal status under Jordanian law.” However, the group came back to the front in the wake of Israel’s genocidal aggression on Gaza that started in October 2023.
As it is believed that the pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Jordan were mainly motivated by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), which is affiliated with the group and is considered the largest opposition party, won the majority of votes in Jordan’s parliamentary elections in 2024.
After uncovering the recent plot and attributing it to the group, the already complex relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Jordanian state is expected to become even more strained.
