Safadi in Tehran to Stress that Jordan’s Skies Are Off Limits

Acting Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani receives Ayman Safadi in Tehran on Monday (AP)
Acting Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani receives Ayman Safadi in Tehran on Monday (AP)
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Safadi in Tehran to Stress that Jordan’s Skies Are Off Limits

Acting Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani receives Ayman Safadi in Tehran on Monday (AP)
Acting Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani receives Ayman Safadi in Tehran on Monday (AP)

Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi arrived in Tehran on Sunday, carrying a message from King Abdullah II to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian about the situation in the region.

Local sources said the visit was “important in terms of timing,” adding that the Jordanian side underlined the “priority of reducing escalation in light of the developments in the region.”

Safadi held consultations with Acting Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, according to photos published by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

The Jordanian minister confirmed that his visit to Tehran comes in the context of “consultation on the dangerous escalation taking place in the region,” adding that King Abdullah II “tasked me to answer the invitation to Tehran, so that we can enter into a clear and frank brotherly conversation about overcoming the differences between the two countries.”

He went on to say: “We have started an in-depth dialogue that we are continuing now, within the framework of consultations on how to make our position clear in condemning the crime committed, and in emphasizing the need to respect Iran’s sovereignty and international law, while at the same time protecting our region from catastrophic consequences.”

A Jordanian political source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Safadi’s visit to Tehran comes as “a clarification of the Jordanian position, an emphasis on the neutrality of the Jordanian airspace, and the refusal to allow the skies of the kingdom to be a theater for military operations and to expose its security and stability to the danger of mutual escalation.”

The source also stated that Safadi’s meetings will seek to explain the Jordanian position on the current developments in the region, and the necessity of reducing the military escalation to avoid wider confrontations.

Safadi is expected to meet a number of other officials in Tehran, to consult and exchange views on bilateral, regional and international issues, according to the state-run ISNA agency.

Bagheri Kani said that his country is determined to hold the Zionist entity accountable. He warned that the situation in the West Asia region is “very sensitive due to the continuing crimes and dangerous adventures of the ruling criminal gang in Tel Aviv,” according to the official IRNA news agency.

He added: “Islamic countries in the region must adopt a unified and firm stance and take coordinated measures to prevent the continuation of genocide in Gaza and the expansion of Israeli aggression in the region.”



Almost Half of Attacks on Heath Care in Lebanon Have Been Deadly, WHO Says

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
TT

Almost Half of Attacks on Heath Care in Lebanon Have Been Deadly, WHO Says

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)

The World Health Organization says nearly half of the attacks on health care in Lebanon have been deadly since the Middle East conflict erupted in October last year, the highest such rate anywhere in the world.

The UN health agency says 65 out of 137, or 47%, of recorded “attacks on health care” in Lebanon over that time period have proven fatal to at least one person, and often many more.

WHO’s running global tally counts attacks, whether deliberate or not, that affect places like hospitals, clinics, medical transport, and warehouses for medical supplies, as well as medics, doctors, nurses and the patients they treat.

Nearly half of attacks on health care in Lebanon since last October and the majority of deaths occurred since an intensified Israeli military campaign began against Hezbollah in the country two months ago.

The health agency said 226 health workers and patients have been killed and 199 injured in Lebanon between Oct. 7, 2023 and this Monday.