'They Will Take Us to Prison One by One': Jordanians Sign Open Letter Against US Bases

Hundreds of politicians, lawyers and academics say the American presence drags the kingdom into a war it is not party to — and no Jordanian outlet has published their letter

Hundreds of Jordanian politicians, lawyers, academics, and civil society figures have signed an open letter calling for the withdrawal of US military forces from Jordan, in a rare public challenge to the kingdom’s authorities.

The signatories argue that the American presence threatens Jordanian sovereignty and raises the risk of the country being pulled into a wider regional war. “We maintain that their presence exposes Jordan to security, political and economic risks that serve no national interest,” the letter states, “and increases the likelihood of our country being dragged into a regional conflict to which it is not a party.” Those who signed said they had acted from a sense of national responsibility.

‘We do not accept the government’s policies’

Sufyan al-Tell, a 90-year-old political activist, said he signed to show that many Jordanians oppose their government’s close ties with the United States and Israel. “We as Jordanian people do not accept the government’s policies or its use of Jordan and its capabilities in one way or another to defend Israel,” he said.

Al-Tell, who was detained in 2022 after planning to criticise King Abdullah II publicly, said hundreds more had signed despite fear of reprisal. “The authorities’ response is to open the prison doors and take us to prison one by one,” he said. He also argued that the US presence itself endangers Jordanians, pointing to debris from Iranian missiles intercepted over the kingdom by American air defences.

A kingdom in the middle

Jordan hosts around 4,000 US troops and has served as a hub for the American campaign against Iran, with its security partnership reinforced by roughly $1.65 billion in US economic and military assistance last year.

The letter arrives as Iranian missile and drone attacks on US military sites in Jordan have intensified, setting off air raid sirens across the country and deepening fears that the kingdom is being drawn further into the war. The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps issued a message to the Jordanian people on Thursday praising the growing opposition, saying the positions taken by Jordanian intellectuals had narrowed the enemy’s room for manoeuvre. In a separate message last week, the IRGC asserted a right to strike US bases used as launchpads against Iranian territory.

Tensions have surfaced in parliament. According to The New York Times, lawmakers clashed after MP Ali al-Khalayleh proposed offering condolences for US soldiers killed in Iranian strikes, with one member responding that the US military was killing children, women, and the elderly.

A letter no outlet will print

Though the letter has circulated widely on social media, no Jordanian media organisation has published it — a silence analysts attribute to government restrictions and widespread self-censorship.

That comes against a broader tightening of expression. Rights organisations have criticised legislation introduced in 2023 imposing strict penalties for offences such as “spreading fake news” and “endangering social peace,” which they say has been used against journalists, activists, and critics of the government. Aaron Magid, author of The Most American King: Abdullah of Jordan, notes that Jordanians have been prosecuted not only for criticising their own government but for criticising its allies. Authorities banned the Muslim Brotherhood last year, accusing it of plotting attacks inside the country.

Reference: PressTv