TEHRAN: Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi held talks on Sunday with officials in Iran, as fears of an escalation between Tehran and Israel grew following the killing of Hamas chief Ismael Haniyeh.

ISNA news agency said Safadi “met and held consultations with” acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri after landing in Tehran for a rare visit.

Earlier the official news agency IRNA said that Safadi would “exchange views with Iranian officials on regional and international issues” during his visit to Tehran, and would be meeting Bagheri.

The Jordanian foreign ministry said Safadi would deliver a message from King Abdullah II to the Iranian president on “the situation in the region and bilateral relations”.

The royal court in Amman meanwhile said that King Abdullah had received a phone call from French President Emma­nuel Macron “which covered the dangerous situation in the region”.

The king appealed “further international efforts to reach comprehensive calm and prevent a regional expansion of the conflict”, a statement said.

Iran has held talks with multiple Arab countries including Jordan, Egypt, Oman and Qatar among others since Haniyeh’s killing.

Tehran repeatedly reaffirmed its “inherent right” to take action against Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country is at “a very high level” of preparedness for any scenario — “defensive and offensive”.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari had earlier told journalists “there was no other Israeli aerial attack… in all the Middle East” on the night Shukr was killed in Lebanon.

The dual killings are the latest of several major incidents that have inflamed regional tensions during the Gaza crisis.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2024