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.”



Iran Guards Rule Out Breach in Haniyeh Assassination

A picture shows the site of the explosion at the “Imam Ali” guest house compound in northern Tehran. (Social media)
A picture shows the site of the explosion at the “Imam Ali” guest house compound in northern Tehran. (Social media)
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Iran Guards Rule Out Breach in Haniyeh Assassination

A picture shows the site of the explosion at the “Imam Ali” guest house compound in northern Tehran. (Social media)
A picture shows the site of the explosion at the “Imam Ali” guest house compound in northern Tehran. (Social media)

The deputy of the intelligence unit in the Quds Force, the external arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), rejected the possibility of a breach in the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh, saying the operation had “different dimensions”.

Spokesman for Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Ebrahim Rezaei told deputies that obtaining “complete information about the assassination requires a careful investigation.”

He added that Iran’s intelligence authorities had assured that the assassination was not the result of a “breach.”

The case “is currently under final investigations,” Rezaei was quoted by the Tasnim news agency as saying.

In earlier remarks, a committee member said Israel has a network of influence inside Iran and Tehran. The MP told the reformist ILNA news agency: “What happened is a terrorist act par excellence and deserves a reaction from Iran.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s assistant head of the judiciary announced the formation of a judicial file in Haniyeh’s assassination, a procedure similar to the one that followed the killing of IRGC Quds Force commander General Qassem Soleimani in a US strike near Baghdad airport in January 2020.

The IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency quoted Sadeq Rahimi as saying: “The Public Prosecutor issued directives on the need to identify and arrest those who were negligent in the Haniyeh assassination, or those who were used as agents.”

Rahimi reiterated accusations that Israel was behind the operation, saying: “There is no doubt that the Zionist entity committed the crime, but investigations are underway to find out whether Israel used infiltrators, agents or committed the crime directly.”

The IRGC Counter-Espionage Department is investigating the alleged infiltration. Iranian security personnel raided the guest house compound where Haniyeh had repeatedly stayed during his visits to Tehran.

The agents placed all members of the hotel staff under custody, arrested some, and confiscated all electronic devices, including personal phones, according to media reports.

Meanwhile, Iranian police denied social networks claims about the arrest of General Hassan Karami, commander of the Iranian police Special Forces, on charges of “espionage in the Haniyeh assassination.”

Both Fars and Tasnim cited the police command as saying that the reports were “false and fabricated.”