By Laith Aljnaidi
AMMAN, Jordan (AA) - Jordan said Sunday that it summoned the Iranian ambassador and urged his country to stop “insulting and questioning” the kingdom's position following Iran's retaliatory response against Israel for its attack on its consular building in Damascus.
“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,” Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said in an interview with the Jordanian public service news channel Al Mamlaka TV.
Despite saying the Iranian ambassador was summoned, Safadi was apparently referring to the Iranian Charge d'Affaires in Amman, Ali Asghar Naseri.
Jordan reduced its level of relations with Iran from ambassador to chargé d'affaires in 2014 in solidarity with Saudi Arabia following its decision to sever ties with Tehran at that time.
Jordan announced intercepting missiles launched by Iran as part of its retaliatory response against Israel on Saturday evening, citing its “violation” of the kingdom's airspace.
This occurred despite what the semi-official Iranian news agency Fars reported from an unnamed source described as “informed” stating that the Iranian armed forces were closely monitoring Jordan's movements during the attack on Israel, adding that “if Jordan participates in any actions (to repel the attack), it will be the next target.”
The agency added, quoting the same source, that “necessary warnings were given to Jordan and the countries of the region before the operations.”
Safadi justified Jordan's participation in confronting Iranian drones and missiles, saying: "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 pointed out that missiles and drones have previously fallen on Jordan.
In the same context, Safadi indicated 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 (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,” he said.
Safadi considered that “the challenge now is to prevent further escalation.”
He clarified that “everyone wants to reduce the escalation, but everyone knows that the only way to reduce the escalation is to stop the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and to stop all its actions that push the region towards the abyss of a regional war.”
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala