Saudi King Salman, MbS voice support for Jordan's King Abdullah after 'coup attempt'

Saudi King Salman, MbS voice support for Jordan's King Abdullah after 'coup attempt'
Jordan's king and crown prince thanked their Saudi counterparts for their well wishes.
2 min read
05 April, 2021
Saudi Arabia affirmed its support for Jordan's king over the weekend [Getty]

Saudi Arabia's king and crown prince spoke by phone with Jordan's King Abdullah II on Sunday, to reiterate their support for the ruler after authorities in Amman claimed to have uncovered a coup attempt.

Their calls followed an alleged coup attempt in Jordan over the weekend, which resulted in the arrest of the kingdom's former crown prince Hamzah bin Hussein.

King Salman bin Abdulaziz  said in a call that he "supports all measures taken by the king to preserve Jordan's security and maintain its stability", according to the Saudi Press Agency.

In similar calls, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke to the Jordanian king and Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II.

King Abdullah and Crown Prince Hussein thanked the Saudi royals for their well wishes and long standing support, the SPA reported.

In the immediate aftermath of the alleged coup attempt on Saturday, Saudi Arabia was among several regional and international powers to express support for Jordan's king.

"The kingdom stresses its full support for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan... and for the decisions and measures taken by King Abdullah II and Crown Prince Hussein to safeguard security and stability," a statement from the Saudi royal court said at the time.

Prince Hamzah, the oldest son of the late King Hussein, is accused of being involved in plans to overthrow his older half-brother, King Abdullah.

Now under house arrest in his Amman palace, Prince Hamzah has struck a defiant tone insisting he will not obey orders restricting his movement.

"I don't want to make moves and escalate now, but of course I'm not going to obey when they say you can't go out, you can't tweet, you can't communicate with people, you're only allowed to see your family," he said in an audio recording posted on Twitter late Sunday. 

The palace turmoil has laid bare a rift in Jordan, usually considered a bulwark of stability in the Middle East. 

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