King Abdullah spared no time in arresting both his brothers and cousin; Prince Faisal bin Hussein, Prince Ali bin Hussein and Prince Talal bin Muhammad after Jordanian intelligence services alerted the King that there was communication between the brothers and cousin and Saudi and Emirati leaders; Mohammad bin Salman and Mohammed bin Zayed.

The shock house arrest of the King’s siblings comes as the Middle East faces a renewed ‘revolutionary’ movement in several countries. Leadership among the MENA states has looked towards Saudi Arabia for explanations for it’s belligerency towards the governments despite showing good working relations otherwise. Long standing allegiances with Qatar were seemingly thrown aside in moments when Saudi Arabia launched an economic blockade against long time ally Qatar. Many blame Saudi Arabia’s young Mohammad bin Salman for these poor choices in relations.

Jordan has had a long standing image of being a neutral and well regarding state within a region prone to conflict. The Saudi Arabian stances towards even allies has concerned many in leadership positions to put up their guard. Trust has reached all time lows and strategists have blamed Saudi Arabia’s poorly planned actions for the shift of regional influence from the Saudi state and to Turkey, Iran and Egypt. (Persian Gulf) nations in particular have been very critical of often at times, unilateral actions by Saudi Arabia which they must comply with. Qatar most recently stated they were not against Iran in many aspects and sought good business ties with the neighboring state but due to Saudi Arabian influence were not allowed to pursue such relations.

The Jordanian military has maintained that the brothers and cousin were retired early as part of the military changes to the Jordanian Army and have refused to comment further on the news that they have communications with Saudi and Emirati leaders. The brothers and cousin have not been seen since the house arrest.

(Source: al-sura.com)