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Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq: The Neighbors on the Wide Map

When Americans hear "from the Nile to the Euphrates," the countries that phrase reaches are Jordan, Egypt (at least its Sinai Peninsula), and Iraq. All three matter to the United States. Jordan and Egypt are close American partners with peace treaties with Israel (Egypt since 1979, Jordan since 1994), and American troops are based in Jordan and Iraq. This page summarizes what Israeli officials and figures have said and shown about these three countries, and how their governments have answered. The answers matter as evidence: governments at peace with Israel do not reinstate the draft or move tens of thousands of troops to a border over nothing. The full country pages are Jordan, Egypt and the Sinai, and Iraq.

Jordan: the "other bank"​

The claim is old. The Revisionist Zionists led by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, forerunners of Netanyahu's Likud party, claimed both banks of the Jordan River. Their song ran "The Jordan has two banks, this one is ours and the other one too," and the emblem of the Irgun militia showed Palestine and Jordan together under a rifle with the words "Only thus" (Sunna Files, 12 August 2026).

It came back to a minister's podium. In March 2023 Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich spoke in Paris behind a map that showed Jordan inside Israel. Jordan's Foreign Ministry called it "reckless incitement that is in violation of international norms and the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty" and summoned Israel's ambassador (Anadolu via usmuslims.com, 20 March 2023). Israel's Foreign Ministry replied that it "recognizes the territorial integrity of the Hashemite Kingdom." Smotrich kept his job and, in 2024, said Israel's borders should extend past the Jordan River "Absolutely, but slowly." Full account: The Paris map.

It spread upward. In August 2025 Netanyahu said he connects "very much" to the Greater Israel vision, which Middle East Eye reported "includes occupied Palestinian territory as well as parts of Syria, Egypt and Jordan" (Middle East Eye on X, 13 August 2025). In February 2026 the US ambassador, Mike Huckabee, said "It would be fine if they took it all," and opposition leader Yair Lapid said "the borders of the Land of Israel are the borders of the Bible."

Jordan answered. The Foreign Ministry called Netanyahu's words "a dangerous and provocative escalation, a threat to the sovereignty of states" (Amwal Al Ghad, 14 August 2025). King Abdullah restated Jordan's rejection of "the so-called 'Greater Israel' vision" to a visiting US congressional delegation (SANA, 19 August 2025). Jordan reinstated compulsory military service for the first time in more than three decades, which the journalist Daoud Kuttab called "a warning shot: No to 'Greater Israel'" (The New Arab, 26 August 2025). At the UN in September 2026 the king said: "No one in this assembly should think that ambitions will stop at Palestine. The appetite of this Israeli government for expansion has now become a regional threat" (Making Sense of the World on X, 23 September 2026).

Jordan's deepest fear is the "alternative homeland": the West Bank annexed and its three million Palestinians pushed across the river. Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said that would be "a declaration of war" (ZNetwork, December 2024). Oded Yinon's 1982 strategy essay called for "the liquidation of Jordan under the present regime" and "the Arabs to Jordan and the Jews to the areas west of the river." Full account: The alternative homeland.

Egypt and the Sinai​

Land given back, and wanted again. Israel returned the Sinai in 1982 under the 1979 treaty. The claim never left. Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu called for occupying the Sinai in July 2024 and promoted "Occupation Now" shirts with a map including it (Globe Eye News on X, 4 July 2024). Rabbi Uzi Sharbaf told a conference attended by Knesset members that Sinai up to the Nile is "integral parts of the land of Israel" (N. Noir on X, 27 January 2024). Rabbi Yisrael Ariel said in 2026: "We are returning to Sinai (Egypt)... we have Ben Gvir, who will make it happen" (Andrea Klein on X, 10 June 2026). Full account: Voices calling for the Sinai.

Gaza into Sinai. In October 2023 Israel's Intelligence Ministry proposed moving Gaza's civilians to tent cities in Sinai, "followed by construction of cities in northern Sinai from which there would be no return" (WikiLeaks on X, 2 July 2024). Egypt's army has long believed "Israel sees Sinai as the solution for its Gaza problem" (The Economist, quoted by Kenneth Roth on X, 14 October 2023). Full account: Gaza into Sinai.

Egypt answered. Its Foreign Ministry demanded clarification of Netanyahu's words, saying they "undermine stability" and reflect "an insistence on escalation" (Yaffa News Network, 14 August 2025). Its foreign minister said Egypt "will not allow the realization of illusions about the 'Greater Israel'" (Clash Report on X, 25 August 2025). The governor of North Sinai threatened an "astounding" reaction to any violation of Egyptian sovereignty (Maghrebi, 15 August 2025), and Egypt moved troops into northern Sinai.

Iraq​

The Euphrates edge. Iraq is on the wide map because the Euphrates runs through it. Settler leader Daniella Weiss: "From the Euphrates to the Nile… Even parts of Syria, part of Iraq, part of Iran" (Going Underground on X, 10 December 2024). Opposition leader Yair Lapid, asked how broad Israel's land should be: "As broad [as possible]" and "the borders of the Bible" (The Cradle on X, 24 February 2026). Full account: Lapid and "the borders of the Bible".

Break it apart. Yinon's 1982 essay called Iraq's dissolution "even more important for us than that of Syria" (Activist Post, 30 January 2025); the 1996 Clean Break paper for Netanyahu called for removing Saddam Hussein; the United States did it in 2003. During the 2026 Iran war Israel built a secret base inside Iraq and struck Iraqi troops who came near it, with US knowledge (Wall Street Journal, May 2026). Full account: Breaking up Iraq.

Iraq answered. Its Foreign Ministry said the Greater Israel statements "clearly reveal the expansionist ambitions of this entity" and are "a serious breach of international law and the United Nations Charter" (Alawla TV, 14 August 2025).

Thirty-one countries​

On 15 August 2025 the foreign ministers of 31 Arab and Muslim states, with the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Gulf Cooperation Council, called the Greater Israel remarks "a grave disregard for, and a blatant and dangerous violation of, the rules of international law" and "a direct threat to Arab national security, to the sovereignty of states" (Jordan's Foreign Ministry on X, 15 August 2025). The Saudi-owned magazine Al Majalla called Netanyahu's words "a wake-up call to hundreds of millions of Arabs who thought such ideas were fanciful" (Al Majalla on X, 20 August 2025).

What this means for an American family​

American soldiers are stationed in Jordan and Iraq and serve in the force that monitors the Egypt-Israel treaty in the Sinai. The American ambassador has said it "would be fine" if Israel took the land these countries sit on. When a Greater Israel map runs through the countries where our troops are based, our troops are on the map too.

How strong is the evidence?​

ClaimRatingPage
Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq formally condemned Greater Israel statements as threats to their sovereigntyCONFIRMEDJordan, Egypt, Iraq
An Israeli minister used a map placing Jordan inside IsraelCONFIRMEDThe Paris map
An Israeli cabinet minister promoted occupying the SinaiCONFIRMEDVoices for the Sinai
Israel's Intelligence Ministry proposed moving Gaza's population into SinaiCONFIRMEDGaza into Sinai
Israel's opposition leader endorsed "the borders of the Bible"CONFIRMEDLapid
Annexing the West Bank is designed to push Palestinians toward JordanSTRONGThe alternative homeland
Israeli strategy has aimed at breaking Iraq apartSTRONGBreaking up Iraq

Status: Bezalel Smotrich, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mike Huckabee, Yair Lapid, King Abdullah II, Ayman Safadi, Daoud Kuttab, Amichai Eliyahu, Uzi Sharbaf, Yisrael Ariel, Itamar Ben Gvir, Kenneth Roth, and Daniella Weiss are alive. Ze'ev Jabotinsky (1940) and Saddam Hussein (2006) are deceased. Nothing on this page states that any living person committed a crime.

Go deeper​

Sources​

Research captures: twitter/t25__v289.md through twitter/t25__v300.md, twitter/t26__v301.md through twitter/t26__v312.md, twitter/t27__v313.md through twitter/t27__v324.md

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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