Tribune.com.pk – July 29, 2026
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that hundreds of Jordanian political, legal and other figures signed an open letter last week calling for the withdrawal of United States forces from Jordan in a rare public challenge to the government, which has long cracked down on free speech and dissent.
In recent weeks, Iranian missiles and drones have increasingly targeted US military forces and installations in Jordan, including early Wednesday, Iranian officials said. The attacks have repeatedly set off sirens across the kingdom and pulled the country further into a war it wanted no part of. But most Jordanians have remained silent.
People who signed the letter said they were driven by a sense of national responsibility and concern that the troop presence endangered Jordanian sovereignty.
“Jordanians are coming to the same conclusion that others in the region also have drawn: Hosting US bases endangers the country’s security! (In my opinion, both the region and the US will be better off by having the region take responsibility for its own security and US troops coming home)” said Trita Parsi, Iranian-Swedish writer and political analyst.
“We maintain that their presence exposes Jordan to security, political, and economic risks that serve no national interest and increases the likelihood of our country being dragged into a regional conflict to which it is not a party,” the letter said.
Hundreds of Jordanian political, legal and other figures signed an open letter last week calling for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Jordan in a rare public challenge to the government, which has long cracked down on free speech and dissent.
In recent weeks, Iranian missiles…
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) July 29, 2026
A Jordanian government spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment about either the open letter or allegations that free expression was being stifled.
Jordan hosts some 4,000 American soldiers at its bases, and the country is a hub for US military operations in the Middle East. After the United States and Israel launched the war against Iran in late February, Iran responded with retaliatory strikes against Israel and US allies in the region, including Jordan.
The war immediately hit Jordan’s tourism industry, which provides up to 18% of the revenue for the country. Jordan is already struggling with a weak economy, high unemployment and few natural resources.
Even as airstrikes on Jordan have increased, the government has appeared unwavering in its alliance with the United States, in large part, analysts said, because the country relies heavily on American foreign aid. Last year, the United States gave Jordan $1.65 billion in economic and military assistance, according to Jordanian officials.
Sufyan al-Tell, a 90-year-old political activist, said he signed the letter because he wanted to show the world there is a difference between the government’s position — in particular its support for close ties with the United States and Israel — and that of the Jordanian people.
“We as Jordanian people do not accept the politics of the government and its exploitation of Jordan and its capabilities in one way or another to defend Israel,” said al-Tell, who was arrested by Jordanian security forces in late 2022 for planning to publicly criticise a speech by King Abdullah.
Al-Tell said the presence of US forces has exposed Jordanians to danger, for instance, from debris falling from Iranian missiles aimed at Israel and intercepted by American air defences in Jordan.
Since the letter was released, al-Tell said, hundreds more Jordanians have added their names to it, despite knowing the risks.
“The response of the government is to open the prison doors and drag us one after another to prison,” he said, warning of the danger that signatories could face.
At a session of the Jordanian parliament on Monday, it became clear just how hot emotions were running over the US troop presence. When a lawmaker, Ali Al-Khalayleh, suggested that the lawmakers offer condolences to the United States for the death of its soldiers on Jordanian soil, he was met with shouts from other members, including one who accused the US military of killing children, women and the elderly.
It is difficult to gauge how much the letter represents popular sentiment because there is no public polling in Jordan, and the dangers of speaking out are high, said Daoud Kuttab, a Palestinian-American journalist and columnist based in the capital, Amman. Those who signed the open letter mostly hold leftist, Pan-Arab or Islamist views, political observers said.
No Jordanian media outlet has published the letter, he said, reflecting government directives not to disseminate it as well as self-censorship. One outlet ran an article attacking the letter, without publishing the text of the letter itself. It has been shared on social media, but Kuttab didn’t expect it to inspire further dissent.
“There is a shrinking space for freedom of expression, a shrinking space for the right to protest,” he said. “I think this is probably a one-off. I don’t see a domino effect happening.”
In 2023, Jordan introduced harsh legal penalties for offences such as “spreading fake news” and “threatening societal peace,” targeting journalists, activists and others critical of the government, according to Amnesty International.
Last year, the government banned the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist political group, accusing it of planning attacks in the country. Jordanian security forces also raided the headquarters of Jordan’s largest opposition party, the Islamic Action Front, considered the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan.
Aaron Magid, the author of the book “The Most American King: Abdullah of Jordan” and host of the podcast “On Jordan”, said the government has previously prosecuted people for criticising not only the government but even its allies.
After three years of research, my biography on King Abdullah has been published.
You can now order “The Most American King – Abdullah of Jordan”⬇️https://t.co/5XyO5xk5uo pic.twitter.com/iLOu7wpeco
— Aaron Magid (@AaronMagid) June 4, 2025
“In this case, when they’re criticising the Jordan security policy and the most important element of it, that being its partnership with the United States,” he added, “that is a bold move.”
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260730-jordanian-figures-demand-withdrawal-of-us-forces-and-cancellation-of-military-agreement
Jordanian figures demand withdrawal of US forces and cancellation of military agreement
July 30, 2026 at 12:52 pm
More than 130 Jordanian political, academic, cultural, trade union and tribal figures have called for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Jordan and the cancellation or restriction of the kingdom’s military agreement with the United States.
In a statement published last week, the signatories warned that the presence of foreign forces had exposed Jordan to security, political and economic threats and increased the risk of the country becoming involved in a regional war in which it had no direct interest.
“Based on our national responsibility and in recognition of the magnitude of the risks facing the region as a result of the accelerating military escalation, we demand the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Jordanian territory,” the statement declared.
Read: Iran urges Jordanians to seek removal of US bases after strike on air base
It added that their presence “increases the likelihood of our country becoming involved in a regional conflict to which it is not a party”.
The appeal followed repeated Iranian missile and drone attacks against facilities hosting US forces in Jordan, which caused American casualties and damage to military assets. The attacks have intensified public debate over whether Washington’s military presence has turned Jordan into a target in the escalating confrontation between the US and Iran.
The signatories urged the Jordanian government to withdraw the security and military agreement concluded with Washington and submit it to the National Assembly for proper scrutiny.
They argued that Jordanians, their elected representatives and civil society institutions had a right to examine obligations that “may affect the state’s sovereignty and national security”.
The statement called on parliament to debate whether the agreement should be cancelled or restricted and demanded greater public transparency regarding its terms.
Jordan’s defence cooperation agreement with the US was signed in 2021. It grants US troops, aircraft and vehicles broad freedom of entry and movement in Jordan and permits American forces to carry weapons and transport and store military equipment. Critics objected at the time that the government had approved the agreement without submitting it to parliament.
The Jordanian figures also demanded that the authorities prevent the use of the kingdom’s airports, ports, military bases and other strategic infrastructure in operations connected to the regional conflict.
“We stress the necessity of neutralising all Jordanian strategic facilities, especially airports, ports, military bases and other vital facilities,” the statement continued.
Read: Heavy US losses reported in Iranian attacks across Arab countries
It called for guarantees that the sites would not support “any military, security or logistical actions or operations related to the ongoing aggressive war against the peoples of the region”.
“Jordan is not a party to this war, and its people must not bear its consequences or pay the price for policies that do not serve their highest interests,” the signatories warned.
They highlighted the economic and social pressures already facing Jordanians and argued that continued regional escalation threatened the national economy, domestic stability and Jordan’s relations with neighbouring states.
The statement praised the Jordanian Armed Forces-Arab Army but insisted that its military doctrine should remain focused on defending the country, its people and its holy sites.
It said the army’s national role should remain directed towards confronting what it described as “the Zionist enemy marked by genocide, displacement and expansion”, recalling Jordanian forces’ historical role in the battles of Al-Karama, Bab Al-Wad and Latrun and in the defence of Jerusalem.
The signatories called on the authorities to adopt what they described as a policy of “true neutrality”, based on refusing to participate in military or logistical activities serving any side in the conflict.
They urged the government to take “immediate and practical steps” to protect Jordan’s sovereignty, security, stability and independent decision-making and to spare the kingdom “the dangers of alignment under the American cloak”.
The statement concluded: “Long live Jordan, free, sovereign and independent. Shame and disgrace to all the colonial forces in our region.”
Jordans King is a corrupt CIA/Mossad agent
like AlSisi of egypt .
Jordan is a shucked and cucked vassal of the Jewnited States and Mordor. 100%. The average Jordanian can complain about it until they’re blue in the face and their throat is hoarse and it will amount to f*ck all until they take firmer measures.
“King” Abdungheap’s mother was a slobbering jewess and his father a pig-f*cking lickspittle. Abdungheap’s wife is allegedly from Palestinian parents and while she is rather easy on the eyes, she sure hasn’t said jack shit about the genocide of what’s left of the beleaguered Palestinian people…and will continue to keep her cock-holster of a mouth shut about it as long as they get to keep their titles, properties, and all the money fleeced from Jordanians.
And “100+ jets wiped out”, huh? Crammed into two small hangars? Bullshit.