What About Jordan?

That's a question that comes to mind frequently. So far, in the midst of turmoil in the Middle East, Jordan has had some small protests but the "Arab Spring" never really hit as it did in Egypt, Syria and Libya. One has to wonder what the fate of King Abdullah's reign will be in the coming months but thus far Jordan has been relatively quiet.

Today we see an interesting story worth reviewing:

Hamas Official: Jordan's King Abdullah Will End Like Mubarak

A Hamas official slammed Jordan’s King Abdullah on Thursday and said his fate will be similar to that of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Mustafa Sawaf, editor-in-chief of the Gaza-based, Hamas-affiliated paper Felesteen, criticized the King for his support of the renewed talks between Israeli and Palestinian Authority officials.

In his editorial, Sawaf accused the Jordanian King of assuming Mubarak’s role in sponsoring negotiations between the PA and Israel. Sawaf said that doing so harms the rights of PA Arabs and would lead to the King being dethroned since, as he put it, “Whoever declares war on Allah will eventually go away.”

Earlier this week, Hamas leader Ismail Radwan said that the talks with Israeli envoys in Amman would damage Fatah's reconciliation deal with the terror group.

"We consider these meetings a blow for national reconciliation, especially as we agreed in Cairo to face Israel's settlements, wall, and attacks together," Radwan said.

Of course, it's hard to get through a day without a news story from Iran and today is no different. This one may indicate that the window of opportunity for dealing with Iran may be closing faster than originally thought:


Iran Close To Starting Nuclear Work In Bunker

Iran has taken steps in recent weeks that bring it closer to launching uranium enrichment deep inside a mountain, diplomatic sources say, a move that would worsen its nuclear confrontation with the West.

Iran has said for months that it is preparing to conduct uranium enrichment at Fordow - a protected site deep underground where it says it wants to make material for a peaceful nuclear reactor - but it has yet to start.

The West suspects it of seeking the enriched uranium for a bomb, and wants it to halt the plans. Were Iran to begin production at the site, near the Shi'ite Muslim holy city of Qom, it could make it harder to revive nuclear talks that collapsed a year ago.

Iran is already refining uranium to a fissile purity of 20 percent - far more than the 3.5 percent level usually required to power nuclear energy plants - above ground at another location.

It is moving this higher-grade enrichment to Fordow in an apparent bid to better protect the work against any enemy attacks. It also plans to sharply boost output capacity.

The machines and other equipment needed to start enrichment were installed at Fordow last year.