Amman – Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and his US counterpart Anthony Blinken discussed the “dangerous” escalation in the region and steps to stop it on Wednesday.
This came during a phone call between the two sides, the day after the assassination of the head of the political bureau of the Palestinian factions movement, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran, and the targeting of the prominent leader of the Lebanese factions movement, Fouad Shukr, in the southern suburb of Beirut.
A statement by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry stated that Safadi received a call from Blinken during which they discussed “the dangerous escalation witnessed by the region and the steps required to stop it, and protect the security and stability of the region from the danger of the expansion of the war.”
Safadi stressed that “stopping the Israeli aggression on Gaza must be the immediate and basic priority that all efforts must be combined to achieve, as the continuation of the aggression is the cause of the dangerous escalation that threatens regional and international security and peace.”
The statement pointed out that the Jordanian minister, during the call, condemned the assassination of the head of Hamas’ political bureau and considered it “a heinous crime, a violation of international law, and a dangerous escalation.”
He called for “taking immediate and effective steps to stop the Israeli aggression and all Israeli measures that lead to more tension and escalation.”
Safadi stressed the “necessity of stopping the illegal Israeli measures in the occupied West Bank and its siege of the Palestinian people, their leadership and their institutions.”
Early Wednesday, Hamas announced the assassination of Haniyeh following a “treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran, after he participated in the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian president,” which took place on Tuesday evening.
Iranian state television also reported that Haniyeh was killed in Tehran, explaining that “the investigation into the assassination is ongoing and the results will be announced soon.”
The Israeli army refrained from making a statement regarding the assassination of Haniyeh, saying: “We do not comment on these reports.”
Since October 8, 2023, Lebanese and Palestinian factions in Lebanon have been exchanging daily shelling with the Israeli army across the “Blue Line,” which has resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries, most of them on the Lebanese side.
The factions are linking the cessation of the bombing to Israel ending a war it has been waging with American support on the Gaza Strip since October 7, which has left more than 130,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing.
Anatolia
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2024-08-01 23:24:58