AMMAN Ñ Jordan has emerged as a key target for Saudi fugitive Osama Bin Laden.

Arab diplomatic sources confirmed reports that Jordanian authorities foiled several attempts by Bin Laden's Al Qaida organization to bomb civilian targets in the kingdom. These included Western installations and hotels frequented by Americans and Europeans.

One foiled plot involved a Bin Laden attempt to destroy two resorts in the southern town of Petra. The hotels were to have been attacked as part of the suicide missions in New York and Washington.

Two suspected agents of Bin Laden have been arrested, the sources said. The sources confirmed U.S. reports that the suspects were alleged to have also targeted the British, Jordanian and U.S. embassies in Beirut. Jordanian officials confirmed the report.

Last month, Jordan's then-Information Minister Salah Qallab reported that authorities had foiled a major attack by Bin Laden. At the time, Qallab did not provide details.

Jordanian officials said Bin Laden had targeted King Abdullah for assassination last year. Abdullah was warned of the threat and the plot was foiled.

The kingdom has been gripped by tension since the Sept. 11 attacks and the U.S.-led war on Afghanistan. Jordanian authorities have banned political demonstrations.

In a poll taken in Jordan earlier this month, 91 percent of Jordanians dismissed the U.S. war against terrorism. The poll was conducted by the privately-owned Intelligentsia for Research, Studies and Information. In an unrelated development, Iran reopened its embassy in the Afghan capital of Kabul Tuesday.

"Considering the latest developments in Afghanistan, Iran's embassy in Kabul has taken up its activities," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said.

On Monday, Iran reopened its consulate in the western Afghan city of Herat.

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