Jordan has foiled a suspected Iranian-led plot to smuggle weapons into the kingdom to help opponents of the ruling monarchy carry out acts of sabotage, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing two Jordanian sources with knowledge of the matter.
According to the report, the weapons were sent by Iranian-backed militias in Syria to a cell of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan that has links to the military wing of Hamas with an aim to destabilize the US-allied kingdom.
The cache was seized when members of the cell, Jordanians of Palestinian Arab descent, were arrested in late March.
Additionally, the network planned to smuggle weapons into Palestinian Authority territories to build a Hamas terror infrastructure and open another front against Israel.
Hamas claimed in a statement that it had "no ties to any acts targeting Jordan" and that it only sought to target Israel.
While the sources who spoke to Reuters did not elaborate on what weapons were seized in the March raid, they said in recent months security services had thwarted numerous attempts by Iran and its allied groups to smuggle in arms including Claymore mines, C4 and Semtex explosives, Kalashnikov rifles and 107mm Katyusha rockets.
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz commented on the report, stating: "Iran is the head of the snake, and the world must stop it today before it’s too late."