A Jordanian court on Wednesday charged 12 Muslim Brotherhood suspects with terrorism-related crimes over an alleged armed plot against the kingdom, in a case that has upended the image of non-violence under which the group has been allowed to operate in Jordan.

Authorities on Tuesday announced the alleged plot by 16 people to manufacture missiles for use inside Jordan, as well as planning to make drones and recruiting others to help. It is the first time in decades that a domestic group has been accused of plotting a deadly scheme on this scale.

However, pressures on the political system have been rising since the Gaza war began in October 2023, with the Brotherhood playing a leading role in street demonstrations that have sometimes denounced the authorities. Two members of the group also made a failed infiltration into Israel last year. Jordan and Israel have had a peace treaty since 1994.

A Jordanian security court, which holds its sessions in secret and is headed by a military judge, charged 12 people with violating public order and "jeopardising the safety and security of society". Charges against the remaining four, suspected of having smuggling automatic weapons and explosives, as well as hiding missile in an Amman suburb, are yet to be decided.

Six months ago, two Jordanian Brotherhood members tried to mount a cross-border raid near the Dead Sea but were shot by Israeli forces. The incident occurred shortly after the group made significant parliamentary election gains amid anger at Israeli actions in Gaza. Most of the power in Jordan is held by King Abdullah, Jordan's fourth Hashemite king since the country was set up as a British protectorate in 1921.

The charged political climate related to the Gaza war contributed to the authorities refraining from moving against the Brotherhood, which operates under the banner of the Islamic Action Front party in Jordan. A crackdown has since intensified against dissent, resulting in fewer pro-Gaza protests. Last week the authorities prevented demonstrators from heading from Amman to the Jordan Valley to rally near the border with Israel.

A senior western official in charge of his country's security ties with Jordan said the revelation of the plot will undermine the Brotherhood's street credibility, and could help authorities move towards banning the organisation in the country, and even arrest some of its leaders.

"They have been gaining traction," the official said. "But now they may have overplayed their hand."

Jordan's Brotherhood, which is not banned in the country but has had some operations shut down, said in a statement that it has "no link" to the allegations from the government.

It said the people involved had carried out "individual actions, within the context of supporting the resistance". The Brotherhood "was and remains a genuine part of the fabric of Jordan and puts the kingdom's high interests ahead of any consideration", it said.

Pro-Hamas wing
Saud Al Sharafat, a prominent Jordanian security specialist and former brigadier general in intelligence, said the Brotherhood is an "iron organisation" and that the 16 could not have been involved in a scheme of such magnitude without at least some of its leaders knowing about it.

In recent years, Mr Al Sharafat said, a pro-Hamas wing has taken over the leadership, opposing members more inclined to accommodate Jordan and the obligations of the Islamic Action Front as a licensed party operating within the political system.

Since assuming power in 1999, King Abdullah has been balancing public sentiment in a society which has a large Palestinian-linked component with the obligations of Jordan's peace treaty, as well as its alliance with the United States.

The king expelled the leadership of Hamas in 1999 for unspecified actions that authorities said threatened the kingdom's security. But it has allowed the Brotherhood a degree of operation, including membership in parliament. Hamas is an offshoot of the Brotherhood, first founded in Egypt in the late 1920s.

Mr Al Sharafat, who heads the Shorufat ِCenter for the Study of Globalization and Terrorism, said revelations by some of the 16 suspects that they had received training in Lebanon further undermines the Brotherhood's chances of survival as a de facto recognised political entity in the kingdom.

"What is there in Lebanon except Hezbollah?" Mr Al Sharafat said of the Shiite group that is the only non-state entity in the country allowed to possess weapons, and which is closely linked with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. "They certainly did not train with the Phalange [Christian party]."