Jordan bans Muslim Brotherhood after arrests over attack plots
Jordan's government has banned the Muslim Brotherhood a week after it said members of the Islamist group had been arrested on suspicion of planning rocket and drone attacks.Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya told a news conference that all of the Brotherhood's offices would be closed and its assets confiscated, and that any activities would be considered illegal.There was no immediate response from the Brotherhood, which denied any links to the alleged attack plots.It is not clear how the ban will affect the group's political arm, the Islamic Action Front, which is the largest opposition group in parliament. But its headquarters was raided by police following Faraya's announcement.
The IAF's secretary general, Wael Saqqa, insisted that it was an independent political party, explaining that it had "no relationship with any other organisational body"."We always declare that we are committed to order, the law, and the provisions of the constitution," he said.In 2020, Jordan's top court ruled that the Brotherhood was "dissolved" because it had not settled its legal status.However, the group continued its political and other activities, and the IAF participated in last year's parliamentary elections, winning 31 out of the 138 seats.
Last week, Jordan's General Intelligence Department said it had arrested 16 people suspected of planning attacks aimed at "targeting national security, sowing chaos and sabotage".They involved possession of explosives and automatic weapons, the manufacture of rockets, the concealment of one rocket ready to be launched, a project to manufacture drones, and the training of individuals both in Jordan and abroad, it said.Faraya claimed during Wednesday's news conference that members of the Brotherhood "operate in the shadows and engage in activities that could undermine stability and security".Authorities had found "explosives and weapons transported between Jordanian cities and stored in residential areas", as well as covert rocket manufacturing facilities and training and recruitment operations, he alleged.He also said Brotherhood members had attempted to remove and destroy documents from their headquarters "in an effort to conceal their activities and suspicious affiliations".The group has denied having any involvement in, or knowledge of, the alleged attack plot and stressed that it is "committed to its peaceful approach". The Brotherhood was founded in Egypt almost 100 years ago and has local branches across the world. One of its aims is to create a state ruled by Islamic law, or Sharia.It is outlawed in Egypt and several Arab countries, whose governments see it as a threat.
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The Guardian
13 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘They just see you as an Arab': Israel's Palestinian citizens given cursory protection from attack
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'The explosion was so loud I can still hear it,' said Azmeh Kiwan, a 50-year-old homeowner who lived directly opposite. When he opened his eyes, the whole district was in total darkness. It was only when the town's rescue workers came with their bright lights that the neighbours could see the road was full of rubble, and it was only when the sun rose that they saw body parts scattered on their terraces and roofs. Kheir Abu-Elhija, a local first responder, who was one of the first on the scene, said he had worked 20 years as a nurse and never seen anything like it. 'The second floor safe room came right down on the first floor safe room and crushed everything,' he said. 'The only way we could find Manal's remains was by a trail of blood,' he said. The war between Israel and Iran involves powerful modern weapons that can turn a human body into vapour and scraps in an instant. 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'I would like to think that the government, since missiles have become part of warfare, will start a multi-dimensional programme to invest in the Arab community, and building shelters would be part of that,' the mayor said. Asked if he thought the current hard-right coalition would pursue such a programme, he shook his head and admitted there was 'no hope'. While missile strike sites in Tel Aviv, Rishon ReZion and Bat Yam have been flooded with rescue workers, home front troops, police and volunteers, most of the clear-up in Tamra was done by neighbours and a handful of municipal workers. Taking a water break on a shaded terrace, Azmeh Kiwan and his elder brother Bassam, who live directly across from the Khatib house, made clear in an interview they identified themselves as Israeli Arabs. Tamra is an ancient Arab village, they pointed out. 'I am from here. I belong to this place and I will die here,' Azmeh said. 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Abu Rumi said he knows where the video was made, and has informed the Israeli government and the police, but has little expectation of anyone being brought to justice. 'We are trying to engage with Israeli society all the time,' the mayor said. 'What we find is hatred, and people who don't see you as a legitimate human being in this place.' He said the centre in Israeli politics had collapsed, and with it the few protections Palestinian citizens of Israel could count on. 'The political power that the settler parties have in government is creating this division,' he said. 'They just see you as an Arab no matter where you are from.' Ayman Odeh, a member of the Knesset who is a personal friend of the Khatib family, said: 'There is a connection between the politics of this government and those who are celebrating this terrible situation.' Odeh argued that war with Iran is just the latest symptom of an untreated wound at the heart of the Middle East. 'It is all connected to the Palestinian issue, and as long as we do not resolve the Palestinian issue we will keep going in circles for ever,' he said. He added that it was also the outcome of Benjamin Netanyahu's need for conflict to stay in office. 'Netanyahu is using this war for political reasons,' Odeh said. 'He's putting everyone in danger in the region with this war, and the war in Gaza. This is the most fascist and dangerous government that we ever had, and it is a danger to everyone.'
Scottish Sun
15 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Israel v Iran LIVE: Tehran in chaos after blitz with gridlocked roads & ‘car bombs' as Trump says US may ‘get involved'
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North Wales Chronicle
a day ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Israel and Iran trade strikes for third day as nuclear talks called off
Planned talks on Iran's nuclear programme, which could provide an off-ramp, were called off. The region braced for a protracted conflict after Israel's surprise bombardment of Iran's nuclear and military sites on Friday killed several top generals and nuclear scientists, and neither side showed any sign of backing down. Iran said Israel struck two oil refineries, raising the prospect of a broader assault on Iran's heavily sanctioned energy industry that could affect global markets. The Israeli military, in a social media post, warned Iranians to evacuate arms factories, signalling what could be a further widening of the campaign. At around noon local time, explosions were heard again in the Iranian capital Tehran. US President Donald Trump has expressed full support for Israel's actions while warning Iran that it can only avoid further destruction by agreeing to a new nuclear deal. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that if the Israeli strikes on Iran stop, then 'our responses will also stop'. He said the United States 'is a partner in these attacks and must take responsibility'. New explosions echoed across Tehran and were reported elsewhere in the country early on Sunday, but there was no update to a death toll put out the day before by Iran's UN ambassador, who said 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded. In Israel, at least 10 people were killed in Iranian strikes overnight and into Sunday, according to Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service, bringing the country's total death toll to 13. The country's main international airport and airspace remained closed for a third day. Israeli strikes targeted Iran's Defence Ministry early on Sunday after hitting air defences, military bases and sites associated with its nuclear programme. The killing of several top generals and nuclear scientists in targeted strikes indicated that Israeli intelligence has penetrated Iran at the highest levels. In Israel, at least six people, including a 10-year-old and a nine-year-old, were killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv. Daniel Hadad, a local police commander, said 180 people were wounded and seven are still missing. An Associated Press (AP) reporter saw streets lined with damaged and destroyed buildings, bombed out cars and shards of glass. Responders used a drone at points to look for survivors. Some people could be seen leaving the area with suitcases. Another four people, including a 13-year-old, were killed and 24 wounded when a missile struck a building in the Arab town of Tamra in northern Israel. A strike on the central city of Rehovot wounded 42. The Weizmann Institute of Science, an important centre for research in Rehovot, said 'there were a number of hits to buildings on the campus'. It said no-one was harmed. Israel has sophisticated multi-tiered air defences that are able to detect and intercept missiles fired at populated areas or key infrastructure, but officials acknowledge it is imperfect. World leaders made urgent calls to de-escalate. The attack on nuclear sites sets a 'dangerous precedent', China's foreign minister said. The region is already on edge as Israel seeks to annihilate Hamas, an Iranian ally, in the Gaza Strip, where the war is still raging after Hamas's October 7 2023 attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off such calls, saying Israel's strikes so far are 'nothing compared to what they will feel under the sway of our forces in the coming days'. Israel, the sole though undeclared nuclear-armed state in the Middle East – said it launched the attack to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The two countries have been regional adversaries for decades. Iran has always said its nuclear programme was peaceful, and the US and others have assessed it has not pursued a weapon since 2003. But it has enriched ever larger stockpiles of uranium to near weapons-grade levels in recent years and was believed to have been able to develop multiple weapons within months if it chose to do so. The UN's atomic watchdog censured Iran last week for not complying with its obligations. Mr Araghchi said Israel had targeted an oil refinery near Tehran and another in the country's Bushehr province on the Persian Gulf. He said Iran had also targeted 'economic' sites in Israel, without elaborating. Mr Araghchi was speaking to diplomats in his first public appearance since the initial Israeli strikes. Semi-official Iranian news agencies reported that an Israeli drone strike had caused a 'strong explosion' at an Iranian natural-gas processing plant. Israel's military did not immediately comment. The extent of damage at the South Pars natural gas field was not immediately clear. Such sites have air defence systems around them, which Israel has been targeting. An oil refinery was also damaged in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, according to the firm operating it. Bazan Group said pipelines and transmission lines between facilities were damaged, forcing some downstream facilities to be shut down. It said no-one was wounded. The Arab Gulf country of Oman, which has been mediating indirect talks between the US and Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme, said a sixth round planned for Sunday would not take place. 'We remain committed to talks and hope the Iranians will come to the table soon,' a senior US official said. Mr Araghchi said on Saturday that the nuclear talks were 'unjustifiable' after Israel's strikes, which he said were the 'result of the direct support by Washington'. In a post on his Truth Social account early on Sunday, Mr Trump reiterated that the US was not involved in the attacks on Iran and warned that any retaliation directed against it would bring an American response 'at levels never seen before'. 'However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!' he wrote.
