Jordanian king, UK’s PM discuss ties, Gaza war

Jordanian king, UK’s PM discuss ties, Gaza war
King Abdullah of Jordan and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. (File/AFP)
Short Url
Updated 15 July 2024
Follow

Jordanian king, UK’s PM discuss ties, Gaza war

Jordanian king, UK’s PM discuss ties, Gaza war
  • King Abdullah congratulates Keir Starmer on his recent election victory

AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah II received a call on Monday from the newly elected UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and the parties discussed the strengthening of ties between their countries, the Jordan News Agency reported.

King Abdullah congratulated Starmer on his recent election victory and stressed Jordan’s commitment to enhancing cooperation for the benefit of both nations and the broader region’s security and stability.

The conversation also addressed the pressing issue of Israel’s war in Gaza, with King Abdullah emphasizing the urgency of rallying the international community to secure an immediate and lasting ceasefire, ensure the protection of civilians, and increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the region.

King Abdullah expressed his grave concerns about the potential for the conflict to expand regionally, and reiterated Jordan’s stance in support of a two-state solution remaining the sole path to achieving a just and comprehensive peace.
 


Jordan, UN aid body discusses urgent needs in Palestinian refugee camps

Jordan, UN aid body discusses urgent needs in Palestinian refugee camps
Updated 1 min 39 sec ago
Follow

Jordan, UN aid body discusses urgent needs in Palestinian refugee camps

Jordan, UN aid body discusses urgent needs in Palestinian refugee camps
  • Israel’s actions against UN workers condemned by Jordan, other officials

AMMAN: Jordan’s Department of Palestinian Affairs and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East held talks on Sunday to address the growing needs and challenges of the displaced and vulnerable in camps across the country.

During the meeting, Department of Palestinian Affairs Director-General Rafiq Khirfan condemned what he described as a “systematic campaign and political assassination” aimed at weakening UNRWA’s role, according to reports.

He pointed to Tel Aviv’s recent actions, including a decision by the Israeli Knesset to restrict UNRWA activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, such as East Jerusalem, and to withdraw diplomatic privileges from its staff.

Khirfan said the measures were a violation of international law and an attempt to undermine UNRWA’s mission of supporting Palestinian refugees, advocating for their right to return, and compensation.

Despite these challenges, Khirfan underscored Jordan’s continued commitment to backing UNRWA at regional and international levels, recognizing the agency’s critical role in providing services and stability for Palestinian refugees.

UNRWA’s Jordan Affairs Director Olaf Becker thanked Amman for the ongoing support of the agency’s work in the refugee camps.


Hezbollah says launched ‘big rocket salvo’ at Israel’s Safed

Hezbollah says launched ‘big rocket salvo’ at Israel’s Safed
Updated 3 sec ago
Follow

Hezbollah says launched ‘big rocket salvo’ at Israel’s Safed

Hezbollah says launched ‘big rocket salvo’ at Israel’s Safed

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it fired rockets at the northern Israeli city of Safed on Monday, the latest attack in more than a month of war.
Hezbollah fighters launched a “big rocket salvo” at the city, the group said in a statement.


Iran executes Jewish Iranian man in murder case: NGO

Iran executes Jewish Iranian man in murder case: NGO
Updated 13 min 30 sec ago
Follow

Iran executes Jewish Iranian man in murder case: NGO

Iran executes Jewish Iranian man in murder case: NGO
  • Arvin Ghahremani was hanged in prison in the western city of Kermanshah after being convicted of a murder during a street fight
  • Ghahremani’s mother, Sonia Saadati, had asked for his life to be spared

PARIS: Iran on Monday executed a member of the country’s Jewish minority who had been convicted of murder, an NGO said, at a time of rising tensions with Israel.
Arvin Ghahremani was hanged in prison in the western city of Kermanshah after being convicted of a murder during a street fight, said the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group.
“In the midst of the threats of war with Israel, the Islamic republic executed Arvin Ghahremani, an Iranian Jewish citizen,” said IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, adding the legal case had “significant flaws.”
“However, in addition to this, Arvin was a Jew, and the institutionalized anti-Semitism in the Islamic republic undoubtedly played a crucial role in the execution of his sentence,” Amiry-Moghaddam added.
The once sizeable Jewish community in Shiite Muslim-dominated Iran has dwindled since the 1979 Islamic Revolution but remains the largest in the Middle East outside Israel.
While Jewish Iranians were executed in the immediate aftermath of the revolution, the execution of a Jewish Iranian is unprecedented in recent years.
Ghahremani’s mother, Sonia Saadati, had asked for his life to be spared.
His family urged the victim’s relatives to accept blood money under Iran’s Islamic law of retribution (qesas), which permits this alternative.
The Mizan Online website of the Iranian judiciary confirmed Ghahremani’s execution, saying the victim’s family had “refused to give consent” to such a deal.
Iran and Israel have traded unprecedented air attacks this year following the outbreak of Israel’s wars with armed groups backed by the Islamic republic in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.


Two Iran Guards killed in helicopter crash during combat: state media

Two Iran Guards killed in helicopter crash during combat: state media
Updated 17 min 17 sec ago
Follow

Two Iran Guards killed in helicopter crash during combat: state media

Two Iran Guards killed in helicopter crash during combat: state media

TEHRAN: An Iranian Revolutionary Guards general and pilot were killed in a helicopter crash during an anti-terror operation in the country’s restive southeast, state media reported on Monday.
The “ultra-light gyroplane” of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “had an accident while conducting combat operations” in a border area, IRNA news agency said.
It said the crash happened in Sirkan, a city in Sistan-Baluchistan province, and identified the dead as General Hamid Mazandarani, the commander of the Nineveh Brigade of Golestan province, and Hamed Jandaghi, a pilot of the IRGC ground forces.
Iran’s armed forces have been mounting an operation in the region since October 26, when 10 police officers were killed in an attack claimed by Sunni Muslim militants.
They have killed several militants and arrested others during the operation, according to Iranian media outlets.
Sistan-Baluchistan borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, and is one of the most impoverished provinces in the Islamic republic.
It is home to a large number of the Baluch minority, an ethnic group spread between Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan who practice Sunni Islam in contrast to the country’s predominantly Shiite population.
The province has experienced recurring clashes between Iranian security forces and rebels from the Baluch minority, radical Sunni groups and drug traffickers.
Helicopter accidents are a rare sight in Iran, but former president Ebrahim Raisi was killed when his helicopter crashed into a mountainside in May, triggering snap elections in the country.
The ultra-conservative president was accompanied by then foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and six other people who were all killed.


Jordanian field hospital delivers services in northern Gaza

Jordanian field hospital delivers services in northern Gaza
Updated 44 min 54 sec ago
Follow

Jordanian field hospital delivers services in northern Gaza

Jordanian field hospital delivers services in northern Gaza

IYADH: Medical teams at Jordan field hospital Gaza 80 began receiving patients on Sunday, reported state news agency Petra.

Staff started work in the morning, treating people with various medical conditions, according to a statement by the military hospital’s commander.

The statement added that the facility highlighted how King Abdullah II, the supreme commander of the Jordanian Armed Forces, was keen to stand alongside those in the Gaza Strip.

Residents and patients expressed their thanks for his support and pride in the relentless efforts of Jordan’s armed forces to provide medical and humanitarian aid.