War of words escalates between Jordan, Iran
Jordan’s 1994 peace treaty with Israel along with its pro-US orientation seems to have put the country on a collision course with Iran.
After Friday prayers April 14, Jordanians gathered in the northern city of Mafraq burning Iranian flags and pictures of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei while demanding the expulsion of Iran’s ambassador from the Hashemite Kingdom.
The demonstrations came in response to a war of words between senior Jordanian and Iranian officials. In a wide-ranging interview with The Washington Post on April 6, King Abdullah II addressed the challenge of growing Israeli settlement construction while trying to fight terrorism. He warned, “These issues give ammunition to the Iranians, to [Islamic State leader Abu Bakr] al-Baghdadi and ISIS [Islamic State].”
