TEHRAN (Iran News) According to the statement, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi discussed regional issues and developments related to Iran’s nuclear file with Iran’s foreign minister, stressing the need for diplomacy to address the nuclear issue and supporting efforts to de-escalate and calm tensions in the region.

Safadi reaffirmed that Jordan would not allow any party to violate its airspace and would not be drawn into regional confrontations, the statement added.

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TEHRAN (Iran News)  Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an urgent statement has strongly condemned the Israeli regime’s systematic attacks on Al Jazeera journalists and cameramen in Gaza.

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry stressed that targeting journalists constitutes a war crime and called for holding the perpetrators accountable, according to Qatari media Al Jazeera.

This condemnation comes as the international community has expressed growing concerns over the increasing attacks by the Israeli regime against journalists and media personnel in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian media outlets reported that Israeli fighter jets carried out an airstrike targeting a journalist’s tent outside the main entrance of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The attack, which took place on Sunday night, killed five media professionals, including two reporters from Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV network. “Jordan”

According to Gaza’s government information office, the recent deaths bring the total number of journalists killed during the conflict to 237.

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry stressed that targeting journalists constitutes a war crime and called for holding the perpetrators accountable, according to Qatari media Al Jazeera.

This condemnation comes as the international community has expressed growing concerns over the increasing attacks by the Israeli regime against journalists and media personnel in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian media outlets reported that Israeli fighter jets carried out an airstrike targeting a journalist’s tent outside the main entrance of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The attack, which took place on Sunday night, killed five media professionals, including two reporters from Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV network. “Jordan”

According to Gaza’s government information office, the recent deaths bring the total number of journalists killed during the conflict to 237.

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In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, the Jordanian king struck a note of warning about a range of alleged Iranian hostile activities in the region and hoped that these activities be addressed in the current nuclear talks between Iran and the remaining parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“There are legitimate concerns in our part of the world on a lot of portfolios that the Americans are hopefully going to be able to discuss with the Iranians,” King Abdullah said. “So, the nuclear program affects Israel as it does the [Persian] Gulf. The ballistic technology has improved dramatically, we’ve seen that unfortunately against American bases in Iraq. We’ve seen Saudi being a recipient of missiles out of Yemen. Israel from Syria and Lebanon to an extent and what misses Israel sometimes lands in Jordan.”

The Jordanian king went so far as to claim that his country has been targeted by Iranian-made drones, a bizarre claim that was made for the first time by Abdullah.

“And unfortunately, Jordan has been attacked by drones that have come out that are Iranian signature that we have had to deal with,” he claimed.

While the king claimed that these drone attacks took place in the “past year or so” and are “escalating”, the Jordanian press has never reported any drone attacks by Iran against Jordan. Nor has it reported any Iranian missiles missing Israel and landing in Jordan. This may explain the confusion that emerged among regional observers after the king’s remarks.

Iran has always sought to be on good terms with Jordan despite its occasional hostile remarks against Tehran. For instance, nearly four months ago Iran expressed support for King Abdullah when he faced a foreign-backed scheme by his half-brother Prince Hamzah bin Hussein to depose him.

Referring to the developments in Jordan, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh emphasized at the time the significance of peace and stability in Jordan.

Khatibzadeh said in a statement that any internal instability and tension in the West Asia region benefits the Zionist regime.

“This regime’s fingerprint can always be found in any sedition in Islamic countries,” he noted.

He highlighted Iran’s amicable relations with Jordan, saying, “The Islamic Republic of Iran is opposed to any internal instability and foreign interference, and believes all internal affairs of countries must be pursued within the framework of law.”

Israel and some Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were widely rumored to be behind what the Jordanian government called “the sedition” to oust King Abdullah.

In his recent interview, however, King Abdullah appeared to be soft on the plotters and hard on those who voiced support for him during his times of difficulty.

The Jordanian king disclosed that he met with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz before heading to Washington. He said he felt encouragement during his meetings with the Israeli officials.

“It was important for me not only to meet with the Palestinian leadership after a war, which I did, with Abu Mazen [Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas]; I met the prime minister; I met General Gantz. We really have to get people back to the table, under that umbrella of how do we get Israelis and Palestinians to talk — maybe understanding the challenges that this government may not be the most ideal government, in my view, with the two-state solution (which is the only solution) — how can we build [understanding] between Jordan and Israel, because it has not been good, but more importantly, from my view, is getting the Israelis and Palestinians engaging again,” King Abdullah said.

He added, “And I came out of those meetings feeling very encouraged, and I think we have seen in the past couple of weeks, not only a better understanding between Israel and Jordan, but the voices coming out of both Israel and Palestine that we need to move forward and reset that relationship.”

It strains the imagination to think that King Abdullah has forgotten what the Israelis and their newfound friends in the Persian Gulf did to him. One thing that could explain his animosity toward Iran is his old habit of bashing Iran with the purpose of propitiating regional allies.

In the interview, King Abdullah refused to explicitly point the finger of the blame at Saudi Arabia for playing a role in the Prince Hamzah plot.

It should not be forgotten that it was King Abdullah who coined the phrase “Iranian crescent” to denote Iran’s influence in the region and accused it of meddling, accusations that drew a harsh response from the then spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Bahram Qassemi, who described the Jordanian king’s remarks as against the calls by the people and most countries of the region for establishing lasting peace and security.

“Such unfair statements cannot deny Iran’s stabilizing role, relentless efforts in fight against terrorism and its contribution to establishing security in the region,” Qassemi said, adding, “Such remarks only benefit the ill-wishers, occupiers and aggressors who cannot put up with the peace, economic development, territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the states in this sensitive region of the world.”

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Lebanon’s Al Akhbar newspaper, quoting a Jordanian security official, said in a report on Tuesday that the coup attempt against King Abdullah II was a “scheme” involving Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and the United States.

The Beirut-based daily said the Saudi crown prince had agreed to support the Israeli plot in return for the transfer of the guardianship over the holy sites in the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds from Jordan to Saudi Arabia.

According to the unnamed official, Israel planned the coup against the Jordanian king over Amman’s opposition to the so-called US deal of the century, which allows the Tel Aviv regime to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley.

The source said bin Salman, with US approval, had authorized the Saudi royal court to make the necessary preparations for the transfer of power at the family level, and had tasked former Fatah leader Muhammad Dahlan with mobilizing Palestinians in Jordan and local tribes.

According to the report, Saudi Arabia armed some southern tribes, issuing them citizenship in return for carrying out military actions if necessary.

In the meantime, the unnamed official referred to the plot as “large and complicated” and underlined that the coup involved many parties but the Jordanian King had succeeded in foiling it.

“The king’s vigilance and the rapid movement of the military and security forces have thwarted the coup’s attempt to remove him and replace him with his brother Prince Hamzah bin Hussein,” the official added.

Jordan announced earlier in the month that it has arrested a number of high-profile figures on charges of hatching an alleged plot against King Abdullah II.

According to reports, a long-time confidante of King Abdullah II and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a member of the royal family, have been arrested, while Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, a former crown prince and the king’s half-brother, has been put under house arrest.

King Abdullah II has ruled Jordan since the 1999 death of his father, King Hussein, who ruled the country for close to half a century. King Abdullah II removed Prince Hamzah as heir to the throne in 2004.

Jordan’s economy has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic. With a population of around 10 million, the country also hosts more than 600,000 Syrian refugees.

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Jordan state news agency, Petra, reported on Saturday night that Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a member of the royal family, and Bassem Awadallah, a longtime confidant of King Abdullah II, were arrested for “security reasons” after a close security investigation.

Citing a security source, the news agency said an investigation into the issue was underway. It also said that other people were arrested along with the two high-profile figures but it stopped short of naming them.

The news came as a surprise to political circles in the region as it was the first time that a Jordanian Sharif (nobleman) was being arrested and as Sharif Hassan bin Zaid has not been an active figure in the public since he resigned his post as the head of the royal court in 2009.

Another high-profile figure – Hamzah bin Hussein – was claimed to be arrested. Unverified news reports claimed that bin Hussein, a half brother of King Abdullah, was arrested. But Jordanian Army Chief of Staff Major General Yousef Huneiti said “claims that have been published about his highness Prince Hamzah having been arrested are not true.”

According to Huneiti, Prince Hamzah had been asked to “stop movements and activities that are employed to target the security of Jordan and its stability.”

“Investigations are ongoing and the outcome will be announced with all due transparency,” he noted, adding, “All measures have been taken according to the law, and no one is above the law. Jordan’s security is above all considerations.”

In a video passed by his lawyer to the BBC, Prince Hamzah denied reports of him being part of a foreign-backed conspiracy but described the ruling system as corrupt.

“[Jordan’s] well-being has been put second by a ruling system that has decided that its personal interests, financial interests, that its corruption is more important than the lives and dignity and future of the ten million people who live here,” he asserted.

Prince Hamzah also said that he was effectively under house arrest.

“Since then, a number of the people I know — or my friends — have been arrested, my security has been removed, and the internet and phone lines have been cut,” the prince lamented. “This is my last form of communication, satellite internet, that I have, and I have been informed by the company that they are instructed to cut it so it may be the last time I am able to communicate.”

Prince Hamzah was keen to deny any ties to a foreign-backed intrigue, a move that raised questions about whether some accusations of conspiring with a foreign group or country were in the cards.

The Jordanian government has so far refrained from leveling the accusation of interference against a certain country but regional news media outlets were abuzz with reports of a potential Saudi and Emirati role in the Jordanian melodrama.

Awadallah and bin Zaid both had close connections to the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Despite having quickly expressed support for King Abdullah II, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman together with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Zayed emerged as standing behind the failing plot against the Jordanian king.

Awadallah worked as Minister of Finance and Planning, and former head of the Jordanian Royal Court, then King Abdullah appointed him as an envoy to Saudi Arabia. In 2018, he was fired from his job and became close to bin Salman and one of the people in charge of the Neom project. He also enjoyed close relations with the UAE, where he was appointed as a member of the Board of Directors of the Dubai School of Government in 2008, according to Al-Khaleej Al-Jadid.

The strong relationship between Awadallah and bin Salman is confirmed by the former’s appearance at the economic conference held by Saudi Arabia in October 2018, days after the killing of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul. Awadallah also accompanied the Saudi crown prince during Eid prayers, Al-Khaleej Al-Jadid said.

Hassan bin Zaid, who holds Saudi citizenship alongside his Jordanian one, served as the Jordanian king’s envoy to Saudi Arabia, a position that was previously held by Awadallah.

Malik al-Othamna, a political analyst, believes that the Jordanian government’s move to arrest Awadallah is considered a strong message to Saudi Arabia, which now faces accusations of orchestrating the plot against a king long seen as a close ally of Riyadh.

Israeli media also reported that bin Salman and bin Zayed may have been implicated in the palace intrigue. Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth claimed that the Saudi crown prince and his counterpart in Abu Dhabi were aware of what happened in Jordan, according to the Alaraby Aljadeed.

Citing Jordanian sources, the newspaper said, “The Saudi Crown Prince and one of the leaders of one of the [Persian] Gulf states, apparently the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed, were aware of the attempted coup in Jordan.”

The Jordanian government has not yet pointed the finger at Saudi Arabia and the UAE but it said that Prince Hamzah was implicated in a foreign-backed plot against King Abdullah.

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Khatibzadeh made the remarks in reaction to the recent developments in Jordan.

Stressing the importance of peace and stability in Jordan, he said that any tension and internal instability in western Asia is in favor of the Zionist regime.

He added that the footprints of the Zionist regime are always seen in these seditions.

On Saturday evening, Jordan News Agency (Petra) wrote that Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, the previous crown prince of Jordan, was taken into custody along with 20 other people for what was called threatening the country’s security.

The special connection of some of the arrestees with Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Salman strengthens the possibility of Riyadh interference in the issue.

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