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August 13, 2026

Amman 9:26 pm

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US President Donald Trump (R) meets with Jordanian King Abdullah II in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, DC, Feb. 11, 2025.

Analysis

Jordan shores up US lifelines as Iran targets Amman’s reliance on Washington

Already a leading recipient of US aid, Jordan has secured fresh funds from the United States as the Iran war tests Amman and Washington's partnerships.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Iranians ride their motorcycles past a deactivated Kheibar Shekan ballistic missile in front of a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran's Bahrestan Square on September 27, 2025, as part of an exhibit to mark the "Sacred Defense Week" commemorating the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Jordan intercepts 7 missiles, 6 drones as Iran warns civilians near US bases

The attacks on Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait come after 13 consecutive nights of US strikes against Iran.

An old locomotive sits outside the Hejaz rail station in old Damascus on February 23, 2010. The Hejaz railway ran from Damascucs to Medina in Saudi Arabia and was part of the Ottoman railway network. AFP PHOTO/LOUAI BESHARA (Photo credit should read LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Explainer

Saudi Arabia, Turkey advance plans to revive historic Hejaz Railway

Turkish and Saudi officials signed agreements as part of a Turkish push to revive the Hejaz Railway linking Turkey to the Gulf through Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Latest News

Culture

10 MENA teams at 2026 World Cup: Morocco eyes title, Iran faces visa hurdles

Morocco's midfielder Azzedine Ounahi celebrates scoring with teammates during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group E African qualification football match between Morocco and Niger at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat on September 5, 2025. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP)

Israel energy minister says gas flowing to Egypt, Jordan despite shutdown reports

A view of the platform of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea is pictured from the Israeli northern coastal beach of Nasholim, on Aug. 29, 2022.

Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar to deepen security ties amid Iran war: What to know

A trilateral meeting was held today in Jeddah, bringing together His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 20, 2026.

Egypt closes stores early, Jordan bans AC as Iran war takes toll

Shops close early, on March 28, 2026, in Cairo, Egypt.

Abeer Ayyoub

In Istanbul, reporting on Palestine

Hanna Davis

In Beirut, reporting on politics, migration, human rights

Lyse Mauvais

In Amman, reporting on humanitarian crises

Residents and tourists watch as smoke raises near a state security building after a blast in South Sinai October 7, 2013. Medical sources said three were killed and 48 injured in the blast near the state security building in South Sinai. A witness said it was caused by a car bomb. REUTERS/Stringer (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX142T0

After joining IS, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis expands in Egypt

Terrorist group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis is developing its strategy and tactics after joining the Islamic State, and threatens to spread the violence to Egyptian cities outside Sinai.

The golden Dome of the Rock (C) in Jerusalem's old city is seen in the distance beyond a section of the controversial Israeli barrier in the West Bank city of Abu Dis, October 29 , 2014. The Dome of the Rock is situated within the Al-Aqsa compound, known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount. On the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, there are still barriers separating communities around the world, from the barbed wire fence dividing the two Koreas, the fence around the Spa

Jerusalem, a sanctuary for all

The conflict over the Temple Mount, or Noble Sanctuary, is over walls both literal and figurative — and until these separating walls come down, peace in the Middle East will remain just a dream.

An Israeli solider points his weapon toward Palestinian protesters during clashes following an anti-Israel demonstration over the recent entry restrictions to the al-Aqsa mosque, at Qalandia checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah November 2, 2014. A far-right politician who wants Jews to be allowed to pray at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa compound visited the site on Sunday, defying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's calls for restraint after clashes this week between Israeli police and Palestinians. Sunday

Israel, Jordan fear violence over Temple Mount

Jordan is caught between a rock and a hard place: It has recalled its envoy in reaction to violence outbreaks on the Temple Mount, but still seeks to maintain its strategic ties with Israel.

US President Bill Clinton applauds as Jordan s King Hussein reaches out and shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (L) at the end of the Israeli - Jordanian peace treaty signing ceremony - RTXF6XE

Israel should protect 'old front' with Jordan

To maintain the special Israeli-Jordanian ties, Israel should be sensitive to the internal pressures facing the Hashemite kingdom and promote a real diplomatic process with the Palestinians.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks on the phone with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington September 10, 2014. President Barack Obama called Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Wednesday ahead of an evening speech in which the U.S. leader plans to lay out his strategy for defeating the militant group Islamic State, the White House said. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR45PEQ

Israel skeptical about US strategy on IS

While the US finds a new interlocutor in Israel's opposition leader, the Israeli security establishment is not reassured by President Barack Obama's latest speech, since it fears that much like Hamas, the Islamic State cannot be defeated by airstrikes alone.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks as he hosts a bilateral meeting with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan during the NATO Summit at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales September 5, 2014. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED KINGDOM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR453HP

Turkey faces dilemma in fight against Islamic State

Turkey is not keen to have the Kurds, Shiites and the Damascus regime be bolstered in the fight against the Islamic State.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki (R) arrive for an Arab League Foreign Ministers emergency meeting at the league's headquarters in Cairo September 7, 2014. Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo on Sunday are expected to issue a resolution backing Iraqi efforts to confront militants who have overrun large areas of Iraq and Syria and declared a cross-border Islamic caliphate, diplomats said. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR458TQ

Adopting Arab Peace Initiative will take time

Though a full implementation of the Arab Peace Initiative is currently unrealistic, gradual progress toward the initiative could help establish a Palestinian state.

New alliances for a 2015 Middle East peace conference?

The Gaza conflict demonstrates that Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Saudi Arabia share common regional interests, which could lead them to an international peace conference based on the Arab League's peace initiative.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (L) speaks next to speaker of parliament Salim al-Jabouri during a news conference after their meeting with in Baghdad July 26, 2014. Gunmen in army uniforms have seized a senior local official and prominent member of a Sunni Islamist party from his Baghdad home, police and security officials said on Saturday. It was not clear if Riyadh al-Adhdah, who heads Baghdad's Provincial Council and belongs to the Sunni Islamist Iraqi Islamic Party, had been kidnapped by militiamen

Maliki furious over Jordan-hosted Sunni opposition conference

The Iraqi opposition conference held in Jordan put the kingdom in an awkward position with Iraq's prime minister, but some in Iraq called for considering its resolutions because they reflect actual Sunni demands.

Domestic violence increases among Syrian refugees

The stresses of the war and lack of income are resulting in more cases of domestic violence among Syrian refugees in Jordan.

With Iraqi roads blocked, demand for flights from Baghdad soars

The continued instability in Iraq is forcing residents to flee. With land borders blocked by fighting, people are forced to wait more than a month for plane tickets.

A man purported to be the reclusive leader of the militant Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has made what would be his first public appearance at a mosque in the centre of Iraq's second city, Mosul, according to a video recording posted on the Internet on July 5, 2014, in this still image taken from video. There had previously been reports on social media that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would make his first public appearance since his Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) changed its name to the Islamic S

Who is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi?

Details emerge about the years that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State, spent in Afghanistan.