AMMAN: Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi made a rare visit to Iran on Sunday for talks with his Iranian counterpart Ali Bagheri-Kani on regional developments, state news agency Petra reported.
Safadi delivered a message on behalf of King Abdullah II to Iran’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian regarding the situation in the region and bilateral relations.
Earlier the official news agency in Iran, IRNA, said that Safadi would “exchange views with Iranian officials on regional and international issues” during his visit to Tehran.
The royal court in Amman also 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.
Regional tensions have spiked following the assassination of Haniyeh on Wednesday, which came a day after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, a senior military commander from the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Hamas and Iran have both accused Israel of carrying out the assassination of Haniyeh and have pledged to retaliate. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the death nor denied it.
Safadi would be the first senior Jordanian official to pay an official visit to Iran in over 20 years.
The last time a senior Jordanian official traveled to Iran on an official visit was in 2004 when then-Prime Minister Faisal Al-Fayez went to Tehran.
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.