The Iranian attack on Israel – the first direct confrontation between the two rivals – has received a mixed response from the world community. The West has come out in support of Israel and condemned the attack on the Jewish state. In fact, thanks to the US and UK, the barrage of drones and missiles fired by Iran were intercepted and destroyed, inflicting minimum damage as per claims of Tel Aviv.
But as far as the Muslim world is concerned, though the rulers kept mum and did not comment on the situation, the joy of the people of the region was beyond description. Another positive outcome was the refusal of Qatar and Kuwait to allow the US to use bases in these countries to attack Iran.
However there was an exception. When Iran launched its attack on Israel, not only were the US and UK actively defending the Jewish state but there was another country in the region that had sprung into action and joined them in defending Israel.
That country was the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Ever since Israel launched its brutal assault on Gaza, Jordan’s ruler King Abdullah II and his wife Queen Rania had been raising their voices against the atrocities being committed in Gaza. They have used every platform to condemn the massacre. But when Iran launched drones and missiles towards Israel to avenge the attack on its mission in Damascus, Amman was seen standing alongside the US, UK and Israel.
This has not gone down well with the people of the Middle East in general and Jordan in particular.
The Jordanian people, majority of whom are of Palestinian decent, have been staging protests for the last several weeks in front of the American embassy to condemn Washington’s role in defending and supporting Israel.
In fact clashes have also been reported between the protesters and the Jordanian police in Amman. Public anger has spilled over on to the streets while social media is abuzz with views critical of Jordan. It may be mentioned here that after Egypt, Jordan was the second Arab country to establish diplomatic ties with Israel.
The Iranian action had earned it praise from among the population of the Muslim world, and has showed that without the support of its allies, Israel was not in a position to defend itself. Besides, Iranian response has also served as deterrence against any future misadventure by Tel Aviv. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet met recently to plan a counter attack, but it is believed that there was a division among the cabinet members on how to proceed.
The US too has distanced itself from Israel if it launched attacks on Iran. Washington knows that any direct confrontation with Tehran would expose its forces stationed in Iraq and Jordan to attacks from Iranian proxies in the region, and this the US cannot afford.
Jordan may continue to defend its action but as far as the Muslim world is concerned, it is not ready to buy it.
