Jordan Warns Regional Escalation Threatens Global Peace

GENEVA - Jordan has cautioned that escalating tensions in the Middle East pose a significant threat to international peace and security, emphasizing the interconnectedness of regional stability.

Speaking at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Ambassador Akram Al-Harahsheh, Jordan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, asserted that military solutions are insufficient to achieve lasting security. He advocated for comprehensive political solutions based on dialogue, negotiation, and respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Al-Harahsheh highlighted the complex geopolitical challenges facing the Middle East, including rising tensions, ongoing armed conflicts, and widening humanitarian crises, all of which threaten regional and international stability.

The ambassador underscored the centrality of the Palestinian issue to the region's conflicts, reiterating the need for a just and comprehensive peace based on a two-state solution with an independent, sovereign Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. He also stressed the importance of implementing the existing plans regarding Gaza in accordance with Security Council resolutions.

Jordan remains committed to supporting the establishment of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction, urging regional states to join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and subject their nuclear facilities to the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) comprehensive safeguards system.

Al-Harahsheh noted Jordan's active participation in promoting this goal, including hosting regional consultations for states parties in Amman last month, focusing on coordinating positions ahead of the 2026 review conference and strengthening the three pillars of the NPT: disarmament, non-proliferation, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

The Jordanian delegation emphasized the inalienable right of all states to develop nuclear research, production, and technology for peaceful purposes, as stipulated in Article IV of the NPT, while adhering to legal obligations and agreements with the IAEA. It warned that any undeclared nuclear facilities or materials not subject to comprehensive safeguards in the Middle East would pose a threat to regional peace and security, fuel an arms race, and undermine confidence-building efforts.

Addressing modern security challenges, Al-Harahsheh highlighted Jordan's continued leadership in the Aqaba Process meetings, launched in 2015. The latest meeting, held at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom, focused on airspace management and the use of drones, emphasizing international cooperation, experience sharing, legislative updates, and the safe and effective use of these technologies.

Jordan is also leading a global initiative, in collaboration with Brazil, France, China, Kazakhstan, South Africa, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, to renew political commitment to international humanitarian law, with plans to hold a high-level conference on humanity in warfare in Jordan during 2026.

Al-Harahsheh reaffirmed that the Conference on Disarmament remains a vital instrument for overcoming the current stalemate in multilateral negotiations, calling for a balanced program of action and adherence to international treaties, such as the NPT and the conventions banning chemical and biological weapons. He also emphasized the need to ensure the protection of civilians under international humanitarian law.

Jordan, along with Australia and other nations, has co-sponsored a ministerial declaration on the protection of humanitarian workers and the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance.

Concluding his address, Al-Harahsheh reiterated Jordan's commitment to multilateral efforts, emphasizing the interconnectedness of security interests and the importance of international cooperation. He urged all parties to prioritize the interests of their people and work together towards a world free of nuclear threats and weapons of mass destruction.