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.”



Lavrentyev in Türkiye to Discuss Progress in ‘Normalization’ of Ties with Syria

Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz held discussions with Lavrentyev at the Turkish Foreign Ministry headquarters on Saturday. (Turkish Foreign Ministry - “X”)
Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz held discussions with Lavrentyev at the Turkish Foreign Ministry headquarters on Saturday. (Turkish Foreign Ministry - “X”)
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Lavrentyev in Türkiye to Discuss Progress in ‘Normalization’ of Ties with Syria

Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz held discussions with Lavrentyev at the Turkish Foreign Ministry headquarters on Saturday. (Turkish Foreign Ministry - “X”)
Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz held discussions with Lavrentyev at the Turkish Foreign Ministry headquarters on Saturday. (Turkish Foreign Ministry - “X”)

Russia continues its endeavors as part of an initiative to facilitate rapprochement between Türkiye and Syria and to restore normal relations between the two.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentyev, visited Ankara to conduct consultations on the Syrian file.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz met with Lavrenyev on Saturday at the ministry’s headquarters in Ankara, in the presence of the relevant bodies concerned with the Syrian file in the two countries.
The Russian official had previously visited Damascus on June 26, and held discussions with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over moves aimed at restoring normal relations with Ankara.
Assad expressed his readiness to respond to the initiatives proposed in this regard within the framework of Syria’s sovereignty.
Lavrentyev’s discussions with Ankara came a day after the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria, affiliated with the Russian Ministry of Defense, announced the completion of the construction of a new Russian-Syrian military base in Ayn al-Arab (Kobani).
On Friday, the Russian TASS news agency quoted the director of the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria, Navy Colonel Oleg Ignasyuk, as saying that measures are ongoing to monitor the cessation of combat operations between the warring parties. He was referring to the Sochi Understanding signed between Ankara and Moscow on Oct. 22, 2019.
According to the understanding, Turkish and Russian forces conducted joint patrols in areas controlled by the SDF in northern Syria, including Ayn al-Arab.
Turkish Political Analyst Namik Durukan considered the establishment of the Russian base in Ain al-Arab as a remarkable step before an agreement is reached to hold a meeting between the Turkish and Syrian presidents, under Russian sponsorship.