Biden speaks to Jordan’s king

President Biden spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan on Wednesday, offering “strong U.S. support for Jordan,” according to a statement released by the White House. 

The talk between Biden and the ruler of a key country in the Middle East comes days after the king’s half-brother, the former Crown Prince Hamza Bin Hussein, was implicated as part of a plot against the country’s leadership.

Jordan is a U.S. ally and is home to 2 million Palestinian refugees. Instability in the country would be a danger for the security of Israel and the wider Middle East.

The White House said Biden in the phone call underscored “the importance of King Abdullah II’s leadership to the United States and the region.”

The statement further said that the leaders “discussed the strong bilateral ties between Jordan and the United States, Jordan’s important role in the region, and strengthening bilateral cooperation on multiple political, economic, and security issues.”

The Royal Hashemite Court confirmed the meeting on Twitter, saying that Biden “expressed his country’s full solidarity with #Jordan and its efforts to safeguard its stability.”

His Majesty King Abdullah II receives phone call from #US President Joe Biden who expressed his country’s full solidarity with #Jordan and its efforts to safeguard its stability

— RHC (@RHCJO) April 7, 2021

Hussein told the British Broadcasting Corporation on Saturday that he was placed under house arrest, though Jordan’s army chief of staff General Yousef Huneiti denied the claim.

According to Bloomberg News, at least 16 people, including at least one other royal, were arrested over the alleged plot.

King Abdullah said in a statement on Wednesday that he decided to deal with the manner within the family, and that Hussein pledged to “follow in the steps of the ancestors, remain loyal to their mission, and to put Jordan’s interest, Constitution, and laws above all considerations.”

Hussein remains “with his family, at his place, in my care,” the king said. However, he acknowledged  “shock, pain, and anger” over the situation.

“Sedition came from within and without our one house, and nothing compares to my shock, pain, and anger as a brother and as the head of the Hashemite family, and as a leader of this proud people,” he said.