After Family Mediation, Jordan's Prince Hamza Pledges Loyalty to King Abdullah

Jordan's King Abdullah (2nd R), Queen Noor (R), and Queen Rania (L) posing for a picture with Prince Hamza, and his new wife Princess Basma Otoum during their wedding ceremony in Amman. (AFPPetra)
Jordan's King Abdullah (2nd R), Queen Noor (R), and Queen Rania (L) posing for a picture with Prince Hamza, and his new wife Princess Basma Otoum during their wedding ceremony in Amman. (AFPPetra)
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After Family Mediation, Jordan's Prince Hamza Pledges Loyalty to King Abdullah

Jordan's King Abdullah (2nd R), Queen Noor (R), and Queen Rania (L) posing for a picture with Prince Hamza, and his new wife Princess Basma Otoum during their wedding ceremony in Amman. (AFPPetra)
Jordan's King Abdullah (2nd R), Queen Noor (R), and Queen Rania (L) posing for a picture with Prince Hamza, and his new wife Princess Basma Otoum during their wedding ceremony in Amman. (AFPPetra)

Jordan's Prince Hamza pledged allegiance to King Abdullah II on Monday as the monarch accepted mediation over a rift within the royal family that saw the prince placed under house arrest, the palace said.

The government has accused Hamza, an ex-crown prince and half-brother of King Abdullah, of a "wicked" plot and involvement in a seditious conspiracy to "destabilize the kingdom's security".

Hamza, detained along with at least 16 others, had earlier struck a defiant tone saying he had been placed under house arrest inside his Amman palace, but insisting he would not obey orders restricting his movement.

But in an apparent easing of the palace turmoil, the 41-year-old prince pledged his backing to King Abdullah.

"I will remain... faithful to the legacy of my ancestors, walking on their path, loyal to their path and their message and to His Majesty," he said in a signed letter, quoted by the palace.

"I will always be ready to help and support His Majesty the King and his Crown Prince," he is quoted as writing.

Hamza's statement came shortly after the palace said Abdullah had agreed to enter mediation "to handle the question of Prince Hamza within the framework of the Hashemite (ruling) family".

The job of mediator was handed to his uncle, Prince Hassan, himself a former heir to the throne.

King Abdullah, 59, named Hamza crown prince in 1999, in line with their father's dying wish, but later stripped him of the title and named his own son Prince Hussein heir to the throne.

Washington, Gulf countries, Egypt and the Arab League have all pledged support for King Abdullah, and a similar message came from Russia on Monday.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price on Monday reiterated Washington's backing of Abdullah.

"We value his integrity, his vision," Price told reporters. "The king has our full support."

"This sedition was nipped in the bud," Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Sunday, charging the plotters had linked up with foreign parties.

Safadi declined to identify the alleged foreign parties, but he said an individual "with links to foreign intelligence services" had offered to fly Hamza's wife out of the country.



Starmer: Britain Moving Jets to Middle East to Support Regional Security

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly Prime Ministers' Questions session in parliament in London, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly Prime Ministers' Questions session in parliament in London, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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Starmer: Britain Moving Jets to Middle East to Support Regional Security

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly Prime Ministers' Questions session in parliament in London, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly Prime Ministers' Questions session in parliament in London, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Britain is moving additional military assets, including fighter jets, to the Middle East to provide support across the region, Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters on Saturday as he was en route to a Group of Seven meeting in Canada.

Iran and Israel traded missiles and airstrikes on Saturday, the day after Israel launched an air offensive against its old enemy, killing commanders and scientists and bombing nuclear sites in a stated bid to stop it building an atomic weapon.

"We are moving assets to the region, including jets, and that is for contingency support in the region," Starmer said.

Britain already has fighter jets in the Middle East as part of an operation to counter threats in Iraq and Syria.

Crews began deployment preparations on Friday morning, when it was clear the situation in the region was deteriorating, a spokesperson for the prime minister said.

Further refueling aircraft from British bases have been deployed, and additional fighter jets will be sent, the spokesperson added.

Iran warned the United States, United Kingdom and France that their bases and ships in the region will be targeted if they help stop Tehran's strikes on Israel, Iran state media reported Saturday.