Jordan PM says escalation in region would lead to ‘dangerous paths’

AMMAN: Jordan’s Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh said on Sunday any escalation in the region would lead to “dangerous paths” and that there was a need to reduce escalation by all parties.
In remarks to the cabinet, Khasawneh said the country’s armed forces would confront any attempt by any party that sought to endanger the kingdom’s security.
“There is need for all parties to act responsibly and exercise utmost degree of self restraint... and not be dragged toward any escalation that will no doubt have dangerous consequences,” Khasawneh said.
Two regional intelligences sources said US air defenses along with support from the UK and France had joined Jordan on Saturday to down dozens of Iranian drones and missiles that were flying over the country toward Jerusalem and across a wide range of targets in Israel.
Iranian drones that came from the direction of Iraq and flew over southern Jordan and the city of Aqaba that were heading to Israel’s Eilat port were also intercepted, they added.
“The army will respond to anything that will jeopardize the security and safety of the kingdom and the sanctity of its airspace and territory in the face of any danger from any party with all the available means,” Khasawneh said.
Jordan’s King Abdullah also told US President Joe Biden in a phone call on Sunday that Jordan “won’t be an arena for a regional war,” adding any “escalation by Israel would only widen the circle of conflict,” state-owned al Mamlaka public broadcaster said.
Jordan neighbors Syria and Iraq – both countries where Iranian proxy forces operate – and is also next door to Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
It has watched Israel’s war against the Palestinian group Hamas, another Iranian ally, with rising alarm.
Late last year, Amman asked Washington to deploy Patriot air defense systems to Jordan to bolster its border defenses.
Officials say the Pentagon had since increased its military aid to the kingdom, a major regional ally, where hundreds of US troops are based and hold extensive exercises with the Jordanian army throughout the year.