His first international match with the Jordan national team was against North Korea in a friendly on March 29, 2011 in Sharjah, UAE when he entered as a substitute for his teammate Ahmad Abdel-Halim, who had to leave the field due to an injury he suffered from.
On 17 October 2011, he was appointed by King Abdullah II as prime minister of Jordan, replacing Marouf al-Bakhit (who had been accused of corruption during an earlier tenure as prime minister).