Jordan’s King Abdullah made a televised speech on Tuesday, stressing that the Arab kingdom is prepared to confront all threats against it.

Jordan’s king sought on Tuesday to reassure citizens after the recent killing of a Jordanian pilot by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group and the ensuing military retaliation that threatened to plunge the country into the neighboring Syrian crisis.

“Jordan enjoys the blessings of security and stability, which are the foundations of life, and there shall be no compromise or leniency over this,” King Abdullah II said in a televised address to the people.

He stressed that Jordan’s strength and the pivotal role it played in the region and world had been realized by creative and tireless Jordanian hands “who hold the Jordanian flag high.”

“This is why we stand strong and united in a region shaken by ethnic and sectarian strife and above all – terrorism,” he said in the address, noting that “Jordan enjoys the blessings of security and stability, which are the foundations of life, and there shall be no compromise or leniency over this.”

“We stand, today, before the future we seek and rightfully deserve. A future that we are forging for Jordan, not the dismal future sought by those criminals, who claim to be Muslims wreaking terror and faking piety,” he said, referring to ISIS, which holds large swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq.

In February, ISIS released footage showing the execution of Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh that prompted swift military air strikes by the Jordanian air force against ISIS targets in Syria.

King Abdullah referred to Kasasbeh in his address, saying: “[Jordanians], Be proud because inside every Jordanian family there is a Moaz that we are forever proud of.”

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