AMMAN, Jordan, May 25 (UPI) -- Abdel Hadi Majali, Jordanian speaker of parliament, has accused Iran of threatening Jordan's security and seeking to destabilize it.
Jordanian newspapers Thursday quoted Majali as telling a meeting of his National Constitutional Party two days ago: "Iran is threatening Jordan's security and it is targeting the stability of the country and not ousting its regime."
"Iran poses a real threat on Jordan," he said, predicting tension in the region if Tehran becomes the target of a U.S. military strike over its controversial nuclear program.
"Jordan will be harmed whether Iran was the target of a military operation or not," Majali said, accusing Iran of supplying Hamas with arms and ammunition.
He reiterated official accusations that Hamas was smuggling and storing weapons in Jordan with the aim of carrying out terrorist plots against Jordanian officials and vital installations.
Jordan revealed earlier this month that the security authorities rounded up 20 Hamas members involved in the smuggling of arms, including Iranian-made rockets that can be used to target installations. But Amman did not charge to Tehran with involvement in the affair.
Majali's comments against Iran were unprecedented and seen by many as a deviation from diplomacy.
Jordan is deeply concerned by the deepening conflict between Iran and the West in relation to its nuclear program and dreads Iranian involvement in Iraq and its closeness to Hamas, which is further distancing the Islamic militant group from the peace process after it formed the new Palestinian government.
Iranian-Jordanian relations were strained two years ago when Jordan's King Abdullah warned against the dangers of what he called a "Shiite crescent" beginning in Tehran and going through Damascus, all the way to Beirut.
Diplomatic relations between Amman and Tehran were reestablished in the early 1990s after more than 10 years of silence.
