King Abdullah II: Jordan won’t become ‘theater of war’ between Israel and Iran

Jordanian King Abdullah II said Tuesday that his country must not become ‘the theater of a regional war’ after Jordan intercepted multiple missiles and drones when Iran attacked Israel at the weekend.

The king reinforced the nation’s commitment to upholding its security and sovereignty above all other considerations. He stressed Jordan’s aim was to safeguard its own sovereignty rather than defend Israel.

Last weekend, Jordan was among a group of nations that helped Israel shoot down missiles, rockets and attack drones launched by Iran and its allies at Israel.

Earlier on Tuesday, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the international community should stop Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from “stealing” attention away from Gaza by escalating his confrontation with Iran.

In remarks during a press conference with his German counterpart in Berlin, Safadi said Iran had responded to the attack against its consulate and had announced that it did “did not want to escalate further”.

“We are against escalating. Netanyahu wants to draw attention away from Gaza and focus on his confrontation with Iran,” Safadi added.

Iran’s weekend attack caused modest damage in Israel and wounded a 7-year-old girl. Most missiles and drones were shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome defence system and with help from the US, Britain, France and Jordan.

Iran — which labelled its attack an act of self-defence after a deadly Israeli strike on its Syria consulate — warned Jordan it could be “the next target”, a military source was reported as saying by Iran’s Fars news agency.