King Abdullah of Jordan asked the American Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, assistance in the fight against drug smuggling on the Syrian border, which has increased significantly, and pointed an accusing finger at the pro-Iranian militias, as reported this morning (Monday) by the “Reuters” news agency. Jordanian officials said that Amman will require military assistance from the US to increase security on the 375 km long border. This, after at the end of last month, the Jordanian army announced that it had thwarted the smuggling of weapons and hand grenades at the border using drones, as well as 179,000 Captagon bullets.
In the meantime, a Jordanian source told Reuters that during the conversation between the parties, Abdullah expressed his concern about the pro-Iranian militias in southern Syria, who have increased drug smuggling across the border, in order to reach markets in the Gulf. Austin, who arrived in the Middle East and will also visit Cairo, stated that “the ongoing and strategic partnership between the US and Jordan will remain strong. While I’m here, I look forward to cooperation in various areas of interest that will yield positive results for both countries.”
Jordanian army forces at the border with Syria (Photo: Vertical)
Prior to the visit, the US Department of Defense announced that the discussions will focus on the growing threat posed by Iran to stability in the region, and on strengthening multilateral security cooperation, with integrated air defense systems. A senior American official emphasized that “the focus of the discussions will be on including threats related to Iran, such as arming, training and financing of proxy militias, aggressive operations at sea, cyber, the ballistic missile program and the drone program.”
Amman’s request from Washington came after the Jordanian Foreign Minister, Ayman a-Safdivisited Syria after the earthquake disaster last month, and also met with the president, Bashar el Assad. This, in order to work to restore relations between the countries. The American State Department commented on the visit, and announced that “Assad’s history in the region should not be forgotten, and that this is not the right time to normalize relations with him.”
As a reminder, last November, Jordan also asked Russia for assistance in the security challenges on the border with Syria, during the visit of the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov in Amman. At the same meeting, A-Safadi said that the discussions with Lavrov focused on the “Syrian crisis” in the south of the country, and explained that they discussed “the steps required to neutralize the smuggling of drugs to and through Jordan, as well as the fight against the militias that support the smuggling operations.”