A Middle East Conflict That Does Not Involve Israel

Amazing, but true: Iraq and Jordan are in the midst of a dispute that has nothing to do with Israel, but gives new meaning to the insult flung at keffiyeh-wearing Muslims of being “towel-heads.” The ridiculous details can be found here: “Iraq launches probe after diplomat accused of taking towels from Jordan hotel,” by Seth J. Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, October 20, 2025:

An Iraqi diplomat is in hot water after being accused of stealing towels from a Jordanian hotel. Iraq’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has taken up the case, and even an Iraqi tribe has become involved. This case may be one of the most bizarre controversies that have affected Iraqi-Jordanian relations in years.

It all began after Iraqi diplomat Zainab Okla Al-Saadi left the Fairmont Hotel in Amman. According to reports, the hotel then accused the diplomat of taking “towels and other items” from the hotel room.

“Saadi denied the allegations, accusing hotel staff of stealing her belongings and car and deliberately trying to defame her,” the website 964media reported. Saadi demanded a “transparent and fair investigation.”

She even took a towel to a television interview to prove she has her own towels.

The issue of taking towels and other items from hotel rooms has a long and complex history. Some people are known to take the soaps, while others have been known to take towels or even bathrobes. Reports indicate that towels are frequently stolen from hotels, according to Travel Weekly Asia.

It does not stop there, however. Hotel guests also take things like TVs, minibars, and hangers. One report said that almost 80% of hotels see their towels being taken….

According to Al Arabiya, “Towel thefts are rampant in Iraq.” Iraq’s ministry is investigating the leak that has led to controversy in this case. “It has taken the initiative to form an investigation committee to look into the circumstances of the matter and verify all its details in accordance with the approved legal and administrative frameworks.”

Saadi has also sent a letter to the Iraqi Ambassador to Jordan, Omar al-Barzanji, and “to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry regarding the theft of towels from a prominent hotel in Amman. In press statements, she demanded immediate intervention from the ministry and the Iraqi prime minister.”

Although unlikely, this could lead to a significant diplomatic incident between Jordan and Iraq. One of the last times there was such a memorable diplomatic incident was when two of then-Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s sons-in-law, Hussein Kamel Hassan and his brother, Saddam Kamel Hassan, defected to Jordan with Saddam’s daughters in 1995. The two men returned to Iraq in 1996 and were both killed.

In Iraq, the towel issue will not disappear quickly. Saadi has tribal support from the Al-Sawaed clan.

This case is not just about towels. The pride of Iraq, and of all peoples who sometimes take soaps from hotels, is at stake.

I still have a small sewing kit that I took years ago from the Hotel Marmara, on Taksim Square in Istanbul. I don’t even know how to sew. But nothing will make me give it back. And I refuse to apologize for my little larceny to the famously apoplectic padishah, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.