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Foreign minister calls for de-escalation after Iran's Saturday attack on Israel

By JT - Apr 15,2024 - Last updated at Apr 15,2024

Ayman Safadi

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Ayman Safadi said that Jordan does not want a spillover conflict in the Middle East after Iran's drone and missile attack on Israel.

Speaking to CNN's Becky Anderson, Safadi said that all parties in the long-running conflict should focus on the rights of Palestinians in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Jordan's top diplomat told the government-owned Al Mamlakah TV on Sunday that the Foreign Ministry has summoned the Iranian chargé d’affaires in Amman to protest "offensive statements by Iranian media, including from the official Iranian news agency, against Jordan."

Asked about the interception of Iranian drones over Jordanian airspace, Safadi said Amman's response would be the same whether the threat had originated from Iran, Israel or any other country.

"Our longstanding policy, whatever objects that go into our skies, violates our airspace that we believe that pose a danger to Jordan, we will do whatever it means to end that threat," Safadi said.

When asked whether Iran warned Jordan before the attack, Safadi said "it was no secret to everybody" that the Iranian retaliation was "imminent."

"We don't want conflict with Iran. We don't want conflict and the whole region," Safadi said.

Safadi noted that the continuation of the conflict in Gaza and the West Bank could lead to further destabilization.

"When the war in Gaza ends, parties can work on a two-state solution that would fulfil the legitimate rights of the Palestinians to freedom and statehood."

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