On Jan. 31, Jordan and the United States signed a defense cooperation agreement. It was approved by the Jordanian government Feb. 17, and a royal decree approving the agreement was published March 16 in the Official Gazette, effective immediately, without being presented before the parliament, or National Assembly, which is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. 

Jordanians were shocked that such an agreement had been approved only a few days after the US State Department and the US Embassy in Jordan issued a level 3 alert March 10, warning US citizens against traveling to several locations in the kingdom due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the dangers of what it called “terrorism and crime.”

The US-Jordanian agreement, published on the Jordanian news site Ammon, is made up of 19 articles that regulate the status of US forces in Jordan and how to deal with US members on Jordanian territory. The main terms of the agreement state that US forces may carry weapons on Jordanian territory while conducting their missions and may transport and stock equipment and supplies. The agreement also allows US personnel, their aircraft and ships to “freely enter and exit Jordanian territory without applying for a visa.”

The agreement sparked criticism from some members of the Jordanian parliament, opposition political parties such as the Islamic Action Front and political and legal experts.