Jordan Intensifies Airstrikes against ISIL

Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) F-16 fighter jets today intensified their air campaign against ISIL, carrying out airstrikes both in Syria and Iraq. The attacks came a day after King Abdullah pledged to step up the fight against ISIL after the terrorist organization burned Jordanian pilot Lt. Moaz al-Kasasbeh in a cage and released a video of the killing earlier this week.

The airstrikes against ISIL positions inside Iraq came as a surprise, as it was thought that Jordan only targeted the insurgents in Syria. But Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh told Fox News today that Jordan has indeed carried out strikes inside Iraq before and today’s attacks were just an intensification of its military campaign against ISIL.

After returning from their mission, the warplanes roared overhead as King Abdullah was paying a condolences visit to the family of the late pilot in his village in southern Jordan. Associated Press reported that the king pointed at the planes as he sat next to the Lt. Kasasbeh’s father.

File photo: RJAF F-16A (near) and F-16B in a 2009 photo (Wikipedia photo)

Moaz al-Kasasbeh, Jordanian Pilot Hostage, Burned Alive

ISIL Barbarity Has No Bounds

Jordan has confirmed the death of Lt Moaz al-Kasasbeh after an ISIL video showed the terrorist organization has burned him alive. The footage shows a man in a cage and engulfed in flames. Jordan vowed punishment and revenge, and Jordan’s King Abdullah on a visit to Washington is cutting his trip short to return to Amman.

Lt Kasasbeh was 26 and had been held hostage since his plane came down on 24 December.

File photo: Lt Moaz al-Kasasbeh (EPA/BBC)

Iran's Security Borders Stretched to Eastern Mediterranean – IRGC Commander

IRGC Deputy Commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami said today Iran’s security borders “stretches to Eastern Mediterranean.” Salami added that the U.S. has failed to contain Iran’s growing power in the region.

“Enemies want to deprive us of the nuclear capability, but we have today stretched our security borders to the Eastern Mediterranean,” Gen. Salami said. 
”The wheels of our economy have now gone past the enemies' plots and their tricks failed to stop our movement,” he added. (Fars News Agency, 4 May)

Gen. Salami’s comments are the most explicit expressions by a senior military officer of Iran’s power projection that goes beyond Iraq and encompasses the Levant; Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, Jordan, Palestine and Israel.

Photo credit: IRGC Deputy Commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami (Fars)

King Abdullah Warns of Anarchy or Breakup in Syria

Jordan’s King Abdullah II warned on Friday that a “fragmentation” of Syrian society is an alarming possibility. In meetings with President Obama and congressional leaders in Washington this week, the visiting monarch said Syria appeared increasingly headed toward either anarchy or a breakup that could imperil the region for decades to come. (The Washington Post, 27 April)

“We’re now seeing the surge of (another) threat appear, which is that of militant terrorist organizations that have risen over the past several months,” Abdullah told reporters in Washington. (WashPost, 27 April)

“Left on its current trajectory, the conflict will result in ‘a Taliban-style failed state, or a series of small mini-states,’” a senior Jordanian official told the Washington Post. “We’re looking at the potential for sectarian spillover, threatening the whole region.”

Despite the failure of previous initiatives, the king urged a renewed attempt at a negotiated settlement as the only realistic path toward ending the conflict without splintering the country or condemning it to endless bloodshed. But he has acknowledged that such a settlement would not be acceptable to the rebels as long as President Bashar al-Assad remains in power.

Photo credit: Jordan’s King Abdullah II and President Obama at the White House. 26 April 2013 (The Washington Post)

Iraq to Build Basra-Aqaba Oil Pipeline

Iraqi oil ministry announced that it is planning to complete a pipeline to carry Iraqi oil to Jordan and Egypt through the Gulf of Aqaba, ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said today. Iraq has already constructed a pipeline from the oilfields of Basra to Haditha region near the Jordanian border. That pipeline is to be extended from Haditha to the Jordanian port of Aqaba. The proposed pipeline will have a capacity of one million barrels per day. A parallel gas pipeline will also be built.

Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil discussed supplying Iraqi oil to the Egyptian refineries with his Iraqi counterpart Nouri al-Maliki during a recent visit to Baghdad.

“We discussed supplying the Egyptian refineries with crude via a pipeline across the Gulf of Aqaba, which is considered a vital route to bolster the Iraqi, Egyptian and Jordanian economy,” said Maliki in a statement. (Aswat al-Iraq/Al Monitor, 13 March)

During to a visit to Jordan last year, Maliki concluded an agreement with the kingdom to extend a pipeline from Iraq to the Port of Aqaba. The pipeline would supply all Jordanian oil import needs.

File photo: Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (R) speaks and Egypt's Prime Minister Hesham Kandil. Baghdad, March 4, 2013 (Reuters)

Egypt, Jordan Warn Iran Threat

Jordan’s King Abdullah warned today that the failure of the peace process in the Midle East will increase Iran's influence in the region. Yesterday, Egyptian President Hosni Mobarak was quoted as saying that Iran is a real threat to the region.

The Jordanian monarch made the comment during an interview with National Public Radio (NPR), the Washington-based radio network. He warned of Iran’s growing influence in Gaza and Lebanon.

“The failure of the peace process will get them [Iran] to increase their ambitions in the region,” said Abdullah. “My fear is that the failure of the peace process will increase the aggression of the extremists in our region… It will bring us into a very dark future; all of us, Americans, Israelis, Palestinians, Arabs.”

The Egyptian president made his remarks on Thursday during a meeting in Cairo with the leaders of the American Jewish Committee. Mubarak said Iran was a threat because of its support of Hamas and Hezbollah.