Against the background of Hamas’s ongoing war with Israel (and the expressions of support for it among Palestinians and Islamists in Jordan), the Iranian regime has intensified its efforts to subvert the Hashemite monarchy.

The arrests by Amman in March this year of Iranian agents involved in smuggling arms to Muslim Brotherhood elements in Jordan are part of a campaign to counter the role of Tehran in bringing both drugs and weapons over the Syrian and Iraqi borders into Jordan.

Tensions rose further over Jordan’s supportive role in foiling the Iranian attack on Israel on April 14.

For the Iranian regime, the destabilization of Jordan is a vital precursor to achieving the strategic goal of turning Judea and Samaria into “another Gaza,” as Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei suggested back in 2014—hence the importance of U.S. and Israeli support for Jordan.