Over the course of the past fifteen years, Tehran has extended its complete or partial control over Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. Its next target, writes Kenneth Pollack, is the kingdom of Jordan:
Jordan . . . borders Syria, where Iran already has large numbers of military personnel and a metastasizing network of bases, despite valiant Israeli efforts to stop it from spreading. Jordan also borders Iraq, where the government is ever more compromised and ever less able to prevent Iran from doing as it wishes—and where several thousand American troops are ever less relevant to the country’s political and military course. It also borders the West Bank, where violent Palestinian rejectionist groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad continue to operate with Iranian funding, weaponry, training, and advice.
So Iranian agents and proxies can now infiltrate Jordan from all three directions. Jordan also has the natural fissures that Iran loves to exploit. Jordan groans under roughly 3 million refugees living on the backs of about 8 million citizens. They come overwhelmingly from Iraq, Syria, and the West Bank, and like all refugees, their demeanor mostly runs from dejected to furious. This is perfect for recruitment by Iran and its allies.
Jordan’s loss to Iran would be catastrophic. It would allow Iran and its allies and proxies to use the highly developed Palestinian networks between Jordan and the West Bank—both malign and anodyne—to infiltrate Israel, inflame the West Bank Palestinians, and enable Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza.
And Iran’s victories in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen have whetted its appetite, not sated it.
Read more on The Hill: https://thehill.com/homenews/4084029-jordan-will-likely-be-irans-next-domino/