House Speaker John Boehner led a delegation to Jordan on Sunday to talk about regional terrorism threats and “Iranian-backed violence in the region.”
Boehner, an Ohio Republican, met with Jordanian King Abdullah II on Sunday.
He traveled with an all-Republican delegation, and made the trip as Obama administration officials work to secure a nuclear deal with Iran that many in the GOP say is too weak.
According to a statement from Boehner’s office, discussion focused on “the violence caused by Iran’s allies and proxies, and the spreading of the terrorist threat. There was also shared concern regarding how the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program fit in the larger context of the security challenges in the region.”
Boehner said in the statement that Jordan plays a key role in stabilizing the Middle East and stopping the spread of Islamic State terrorism.
“We share the belief that defeating ISIL [another term for the Islamic State] and stopping the spread of the terrorist threat will require a comprehensive approach,” Boehner said. “That means, in addition to security responses to the instability and violence, we have to improve our strategies to counter the economic and social drivers of radicalization.”
Nine Republicans accompanied Boehner on the trip, including House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, of California, Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, of Florida, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East & North Africa.
