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Arab World Supports King Abdullah’s Efforts to Preserve Jordan’s Security

In this photo released by the Royal Hashemite Court, Jordan's King Abdullah II gives a speech during the inauguration of the 19th Parliament’s non-ordinary session, Amman, Jordan, Dec. 10, 2020. (AP)
In this photo released by the Royal Hashemite Court, Jordan's King Abdullah II gives a speech during the inauguration of the 19th Parliament’s non-ordinary session, Amman, Jordan, Dec. 10, 2020. (AP)
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Arab World Supports King Abdullah’s Efforts to Preserve Jordan’s Security

In this photo released by the Royal Hashemite Court, Jordan's King Abdullah II gives a speech during the inauguration of the 19th Parliament’s non-ordinary session, Amman, Jordan, Dec. 10, 2020. (AP)
In this photo released by the Royal Hashemite Court, Jordan's King Abdullah II gives a speech during the inauguration of the 19th Parliament’s non-ordinary session, Amman, Jordan, Dec. 10, 2020. (AP)

The Arab world threw its support behind King Abdullah II and the measures taken to preserve Jordan’s security and stability.

King Abdullah’s half-brother and former Crown Prince Hamza bin Hussein was told to halt actions used to target the country’s “security and stability”, the military said on Saturday.

In a statement published by the state news agency, it said the action was part of a broader security investigation in which a former minister, a member of the royal family and some other unidentified individuals were detained.

Egypt voiced support for King Abdullah and his efforts “to maintain the security and stability of the kingdom against any attempts to undermine it,” its presidency spokesman wrote on Facebook.

Oman completely stands by Jordan under the leadership of King Abdullah and firmly supports anything that preserves Jordan's security, sovereignty and stability, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa affirmed full support to the decisions and measures taken by HM King Abdulla II Ibn Al Hussein of Jordan to maintain his country’s security and stability and defuse all disruptive attempts,” state news agency BNA said.

In a statement on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) website, Secretary-General Dr. Nayef al-Hajraf said the grouping “affirmed the full support of the Cooperation Council for all decisions and measures taken by His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, to preserve the security and stability of brotherly Jordan, wishing brotherly Jordan continued security and stability under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah II and His Highness, the faithful Crown Prince.”

“Jordan’s security and safety is a fundamental basis for the security and safety of the Arab world,” Lebanese Prime Minister designate Saad al-Hariri said on Twitter.

“All the solidarity with the Jordanian leadership and King Abdullah in defending the gains of the Jordanian people, protecting their stability, and refusing interference in their affairs.”

Kuwait’s foreign ministry expressed its “support to all the measures taken by Jordan’s King Abdullah and his Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, to maintain the security and stability of the kingdom”, adding “The security and stability of the kingdom are that of Kuwait”.

“The Iraqi government affirms that it stands with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah II, in any steps taken to preserve the security and stability of the country and take care of the interests of the brotherly people of Jordan, in a way that boosts their presence, by relying on measures that aim to extend the respect of the state,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

“Qatar expressed its full solidarity with the sisterly Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and its full support to the decisions and measures issued by His Majesty King Abdullah to preserve the security, stability, and boost the process of progress and prosperity in the country,” state news agency QNA said.

“Qatar affirmed that the security and stability of Jordan is an integral part of its security and stability, and stressed that the developed strategic relations between the two brotherly countries will remain an honest and strong guard against any attempts to undermine the security and stability in the two countries and the region.”

Yemen’s legitimate government “affirms its absolute support and its complete stand with all measures aimed at preserving Jordan’s security”, state news agency Saba said.

“Yemen affirms its absolute support and totally stands with all decisions and measures taken by His Majesty King Abdullah aimed at maintaining security and ending any attempts to destabilize the sisterly Kingdom of Jordan.”

“Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that we stand by the sisterly Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the king, the government, and the people,” official Palestinian news agency WAFA said in a statement.

“We support the decisions taken by King Abdullah II to preserve Jordan’s security and ensure its stability and unity.

“We support the steps taken by King Abdullah to maintain Jordanian national security, stressing that Jordan’s security and stability is a supreme Palestinian interest.”

Morocco's King Mohammed VI held a phone call with King Abdullah on Sunday to express solidarity and support for security measures taken by Jordanian's authorities, Morocco's royal palace said on Sunday.

“The secretary-general of the Arab League expressed full solidarity with the measures taken by the Jordanian leadership to maintain the security of the kingdom and maintain the stability,” the Arab League said in a statement on its Facebook page, citing Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

“He also stressed his confidence in the leadership’s wisdom and its keenness to secure the country’s stability in parallel with the respect for the constitution and the law.

“Ahmed Aboul Gheit added that King Abdullah II has a high and appreciated position, whether among the Jordanian people or on the Arab level in general, and that everyone knows his sincerity and his great role in serving Arab causes.”

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Arab World

Sudan Urges US to Designate RSF a Terrorist Group

RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo speaks during a press conference at RSF headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan February 19, 2023. (Reuters)
RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo speaks during a press conference at RSF headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan February 19, 2023. (Reuters)
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Sudan Urges US to Designate RSF a Terrorist Group

RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo speaks during a press conference at RSF headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan February 19, 2023. (Reuters)
RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo speaks during a press conference at RSF headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan February 19, 2023. (Reuters)

Sudan's foreign ministry said Tuesday that the United States should designate the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces a "terrorist organization", a day after Washington slapped the same designation on the local branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The US designation for the Brotherhood, which will come into effect next week, accused the Islamist group of receiving support from Iran.

Noting that decision, while stopping short of criticizing it, Sudan's foreign ministry said "all groups that violate international humanitarian law and commit terrorism, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Sudan should be designated as terrorist groups".

The US, it added, should therefore "designate the RSF militia as a terrorist group, given its proven crimes and documented violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and terrorism".

Since 2023, the RSF -- under paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo -- has been at war with the regular army, under Sudan's de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Burhan has a complex relationship with Islamists, relying on them for political support and fighters, but facing pressure from the US and his allies to distance himself from them.

He has denied having Brotherhood members in his government.

The RSF has been widely accused of mass atrocities, and last month was found by a UN inquiry to have committed "acts of genocide" in Darfur.

Last year, the US issued a similar genocide determination.

The RSF has repeatedly characterized the war as a fight against Sudan's Islamists and the remnants of the ruling system of Islamist-military president Omar al-Bashir, whom Daglo and Burhan helped oust in 2019.

Arab World

Israeli Strikes Hit Near Beirut as Envoy Says Disarming Hezbollah Could End War

Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 10 March 2026. (EPA)
Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 10 March 2026. (EPA)
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Israeli Strikes Hit Near Beirut as Envoy Says Disarming Hezbollah Could End War

Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 10 March 2026. (EPA)
Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 10 March 2026. (EPA)

Israel's military pounded the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs with air strikes on Tuesday and its troops pushed deeper into the country's south, as an Israeli envoy said the key to ending the war was disarming Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Lebanon was pulled deep into the war in the Middle East last week, when Iran-backed Hezbollah opened fire on Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader.

Israel has since launched air strikes across Lebanon's south, east and Beirut's suburbs, killing nearly 500 people including more than 80 children, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

Strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs on Tuesday afternoon sent thick columns of smoke over the ‌city. Two hours ‌before they began, an Israeli military spokesperson ordered residents to leave ‌immediately, ⁠specifying three new ⁠districts that should be evacuated.

A member of the municipal council for the area told Reuters families there were fleeing, adding to the nearly 700,000 that Lebanese authorities say have already been displaced by the war.

Lebanon's Minister of Social Affairs Haneen Sayed said on Tuesday that the state was bracing itself for higher displacement figures than in 2024, when the last war between Israel and Hezbollah pushed more than a million people out of their homes.

"So we expect that ⁠the needs, the numbers of displacement, will be higher than in ‌2024. Now on the other side in terms ‌of resources, there's far less resources this year given the global situation, the regional war that's ‌happening," she said.

DISARMING HEZBOLLAH COULD END WAR, ISRAELI ENVOY SAYS

Sayed spoke to Reuters ‌at Beirut's airport, where the European Union was delivering 45 tons of emergency supplies including medical kits and blankets.

"Our traditional partners and friends in the Gulf are of course under stress themselves. So we're appealing to the international community to be with us at this moment to help stabilize the ‌situation in terms of humanitarian needs," Sayed said.

Israeli troops made advances on Tuesday in additional towns in southeastern Lebanon, including with ⁠armored columns, Lebanese security ⁠sources told Reuters.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday had signaled his openness to enter direct negotiations with Israel to end the war.

But Israel's ambassador to France Joshua Zarka said on Tuesday that words were not enough.

"At this stage, I’m not aware of any decision to enter negotiations to end this war," Zarka said.

"What would end it is the disarmament of Hezbollah — and that is a choice for the Lebanese government," he said.

Zarka said Lebanon's government was "making very good statements, but to these comments they need to add actions."

Lebanon's government last year vowed to establish a state monopoly on arms and confiscated part of Hezbollah's arsenal in the country's south, without objections from the group.

But Hezbollah has refused to disarm in full, and Lebanese authorities were fearful that taking its arms by force could ignite a civil conflict.

Arab World

Lebanese, Syrian Presidents Agree on Tightening Border Control

This handout photograph released by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun giving a joint-press conference with Germany's president at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on February 16, 2026. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office / AFP)
This handout photograph released by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun giving a joint-press conference with Germany's president at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on February 16, 2026. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office / AFP)
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Lebanese, Syrian Presidents Agree on Tightening Border Control

This handout photograph released by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun giving a joint-press conference with Germany's president at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on February 16, 2026. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office / AFP)
This handout photograph released by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun giving a joint-press conference with Germany's president at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on February 16, 2026. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office / AFP)

The Lebanese and Syrian presidents agreed Tuesday on the need to step up control over their shared frontier following a pair of incidents involving cross-border fire.

Lebanon's Joseph Aoun and Syria's Ahmed al-Sharaa agreed during a phone call that "the current sensitive situation requires enhancing coordination and consultation... especially with regard to the necessity of controlling the border", a Lebanese presidency statement said.

Sharaa also "expressed his support for the Lebanese president's efforts to disarm Hezbollah and spare the region the repercussions of the current conflict", according to a statement from the Syrian presidency.

The phone call between the leaders came hours after Syria accused pro-Iran Hezbollah of firing artillery shells into its territory.

Syrian army officials said shells fired from Lebanon landed near the town of Serghaya, west of Damascus, the state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday.

"The Syrian Arab Army will not tolerate any aggression targeting Syria," the army said in a statement to official media.

Earlier, a Lebanese soldier was moderately wounded on Friday by "gunfire from the Syrian side targeting a Lebanese army post in the Qasr-Hermel area", Lebanon's army said.

"An investigation is underway to determine the circumstances of the incident in coordination with the relevant Syrian authorities."

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last week when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli strikes. Syria has so far remained on the sidelines.

In recent days, areas adjacent to Syria and controlled by Hezbollah in eastern Lebanon have witnessed fierce clashes between the group and Israeli commando forces.

Syria responded to the outbreak of the regional war last week by stationing additional troops on its borders with Lebanon and Iraq.

Hezbollah had been a key ally of Damascus during the rule of former president Bashar al-Assad, and it intervened militarily in support of him in 2013, remaining in Syria for years in a number of border towns and crossings.