Jordan stated on Sunday that the ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador and called on the country to stop “insulting and questioning” the kingdom’s position following Iran’s retaliatory response to Israel for the attack on its consulate building in Damascus, according to Arab media.
Although the Iranian ambassador was summoned, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi was obviously referring to Iran’s Charge d’Affaires in Amman, Ali Asghar Naseri.
“The Iranian ambassador has been summoned and a message has been delivered to him urging [his country] to stop insulting and questioning Jordan’s position.”
Jordan downgraded its relationship with Iran from ambassador to chargé d’affaires in 2014 in solidarity with Saudi Arabia following its decision to cut ties with Tehran at the time. Jordan also announced the interception of missiles launched by Iran as part of its retaliation against Israel on Saturday night, citing “violation” of the kingdom’s airspace.
Safadi justified Jordan’s involvement in confronting Iranian drones and missiles.
Our policy is firm that anything threatening Jordan, we will confront it because our priority is to protect the kingdom, protect the lives of Jordanians, protect their capabilities, protect the country’s security and stability.
He also noted that his country “previously warned that the continuation of the war on Gaza would lead to an escalation and more tension in the region.”
“The escalation that occurred yesterday [on Saturday] we warned of since the beginning of the war on Gaza, and we warned that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu would try to provoke a confrontation with Iran to drag the United States and the West into a regional war so the focus shifts towards Iran and the world forgets Gaza.”
Safadi declared that the only way to de-escalate the region would be to end the war in Gaza and “all its [Israeli] actions that push the region towards the abyss of a regional war.”
