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Abdullah II to Araghchi: Jordan Will Not be Battleground for Regional Conflicts

Jordanian King Abdullah II on Wednesday welcomes Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Amman (Petra)
Jordanian King Abdullah II on Wednesday welcomes Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Amman (Petra)
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Abdullah II to Araghchi: Jordan Will Not be Battleground for Regional Conflicts

Jordanian King Abdullah II on Wednesday welcomes Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Amman (Petra)
Jordanian King Abdullah II on Wednesday welcomes Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Amman (Petra)

Jordanian King Abdullah II on Wednesday affirmed during his meeting in Amman with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that his country will not be a battleground for regional conflicts, while also stressing the need for regional de-escalation.
Also at the meeting, attended by Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, the King warned that the continued killing and destruction will keep the region hostage to violence and the expansion of conflict.
He affirmed the need to stop the Israeli war on Gaza and Lebanon as a first step towards comprehensive calm.
King Abdullah II then expressed Jordan's keenness to exert all efforts with partner states to restore stability in the region and create a political horizon for the Palestinian issue.
He highlighted the importance of boosting the humanitarian response in Gaza, as well as ensuring the continued flow of aid in order to mitigate the humanitarian catastrophe.
Jordan Will Respond to Any Violations
At every diplomatic meeting, Jordanian politicians reaffirm these positions, saying that Jordan will not be a battleground for regional conflicts. They expressed the same positions to the Iranian Foreign Minister.
Jordan is keen to remain completely neutral facing the Israeli-Iranian escalation. It refuses any violation of its sovereignty and airspace or threats to the security of its citizens.
Amman had already informed Iran and Israel that it will “shoot down any target” in its airspace in case the confrontation escalates between the two nations.
Meanwhile, analysts are incapable of understanding the controversial position of Tehran. While Iran has engaged in diplomatic talks in the region to de-escalate the conflict, it continues to support the war on several fronts amid risks of engaging in it.
Araghchi’s visit to Amman on Wednesday was preceded by a closed-door meeting between the Jordanian monarch and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last month. But details of their talks were not disclosed.
Amman, Tehran: Good Relations
Last April, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi made a rare and surprising visit to Iran just days following the assassination of Hamas’ chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran with a plea for an end to the escalation of violence and for the region to be able to live in “peace, security and stability.”
During the visit, which sought to improve their relations, the Jordanian minister said that King Abdullah II “tasked me to accept the invitation to Tehran, so that we can engage into a clear and frank brotherly conversation about overcoming the differences between the two countries.”
Safadi’s visit to Tehran was also addressed to Israel, as it sent a clarification that Jordan “has several political options to defend its sovereignty, including to open communication channels with Tehran and relevant sides in the region,” sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Tehran’s Missiles in Jordanian Airspace
Israel lacks a geographical depth to respond to Iran’s firing of ballistic missiles at Israel. Therefore, Israel’s anti-missile system could lead to the crashing of missiles in a populated area in the Jordanian territory.
The Royal Jordanian Air Force and air defense systems have responded to a number of missiles and drones that entered Jordanian airspace by pushing them to an unpopulated area in the desert.
On April 13 and Oct. 1 Iran fired missiles at Israel, the Jordanian government responded, saying it will not allow the country to become a battleground.⁠
Two weeks ago, government spokesperson Mohammad Momani told local media that protecting Jordan and Jordanians is the cabinet’s first responsibility.
He said “Jordan's position is clear and permanent that it will not be an arena for conflict for any party.”

 

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Former Israeli Spies Describe Attack Using Exploding Electronic Devices against Lebanon’s Hezbollah

An ambulance rushes wounded people to the American University of Beirut Medical Center, on September 17, 2024, after explosions hit locations in several Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon amid ongoing cross-border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by Anwar AMRO / AFP)
An ambulance rushes wounded people to the American University of Beirut Medical Center, on September 17, 2024, after explosions hit locations in several Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon amid ongoing cross-border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by Anwar AMRO / AFP)
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Former Israeli Spies Describe Attack Using Exploding Electronic Devices against Lebanon’s Hezbollah

An ambulance rushes wounded people to the American University of Beirut Medical Center, on September 17, 2024, after explosions hit locations in several Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon amid ongoing cross-border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by Anwar AMRO / AFP)
An ambulance rushes wounded people to the American University of Beirut Medical Center, on September 17, 2024, after explosions hit locations in several Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon amid ongoing cross-border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by Anwar AMRO / AFP)

Two recently retired senior Israeli intelligence agents shared new details about a deadly clandestine operation years in the making that targeted Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and Syria using exploding pagers and walkie talkies three months ago.
Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war, The Associated Press said.
The agents spoke with CBS “60 Minutes” in a segment aired Sunday night. They wore masks and spoke with altered voices to hide their identities.
One agent said the operation started 10 years ago using walkie-talkies laden with hidden explosives, which Hezbollah didn't realize it was buying from Israel, its enemy. The walkie-talkies were not detonated until September, a day after booby-trapped pagers were set off.
“We created a pretend world,” said the officer, who went by the name “Michael.”
Phase two of the plan, using the booby-trapped pagers, kicked in in 2022 after Israel's Mossad intelligence agency learned Hezbollah had been buying pagers from a Taiwan-based company, the second officer said.
The pagers had to be made slightly larger to accommodate the explosives hidden inside. They were tested on dummies multiple times to find the right amount of explosive that would hurt only the Hezbollah fighter and not anyone else in close proximity.
Mossad also tested numerous ring tones to find one that sounded urgent enough to make someone pull the pager out of their pocket.
The second agent, who went by the name “Gabriel,” said it took two weeks to convince Hezbollah to switch to the heftier pager, in part by using false ads on YouTube promoting the devices as dustproof, waterproof, providing a long battery life and more.
He described the use of shell companies, including one based in Hungary, to dupe the Taiwanese firm, Gold Apollo, into unknowingly partnering with the Mossad.
Hezbollah also was unaware it was working with Israel.
Gabriel compared the ruse to a 1998 psychological film about a man who has no clue that he is living in a false world and his family and friends are actors paid to keep up the illusion.
“When they are buying from us, they have zero clue that they are buying from the Mossad,” Gabriel said. “We make like ‘Truman Show,’ everything is controlled by us behind the scene. In their experience, everything is normal. Everything was 100% kosher including businessman, marketing, engineers, showroom, everything.”
By September, Hezbollah militants had 5,000 pagers in their pockets.
Israel triggered the attack on Sept. 17, when pagers all over Lebanon started beeping. The devices would explode even if the person failed to push the buttons to read an incoming encrypted message.
The next day, Mossad activated the walkie-talkies, some of which exploded at funerals for some of the approximately 30 people who were killed in the pager attacks.
Gabriel said the goal was more about sending a message than actually killing Hezbollah fighters.
“If he just died, so he’s dead. But if he’s wounded, you have to take him to the hospital, take care of him. You need to invest money and efforts,” he said. “And those people without hands and eyes are living proof, walking in Lebanon, of ‘don’t mess with us.’ They are walking proof of our superiority all around the Middle East.”
In the days after the attack, Israel's air force hit targets across Lebanon, killing thousands. Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was assassinated when Israel dropped bombs on his bunker.
By November, the war between Israel and Hezbollah, a byproduct of the deadly attack by Hamas group in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, ended with a ceasefire. More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas militants, health officials have said.
The agent using the name “Michael” said that the day after the pager explosions, people in Lebanon were afraid to turn on their air conditioners out of fear that they would explode, too.
“There is real fear,” he said.
Asked if that was intentional, he said, “We want them to feel vulnerable, which they are. We can’t use the pagers again because we already did that. We’ve already moved on to the next thing. And they’ll have to keep on trying to guess what the next thing is.”