Jordan’s Foreign Minister Marwan Moasher expressed the kingdom's wish for good ties with Iran following remarks by its ambassador to Tehran, saying Iran had carried out acts in Jordan that violated his country's security.
"Jordan wants to establish good relations with Iran, and will pursue in future diplomatic action trying to eliminate any misunderstanding" brought about by the ambassador's remarks, Moasher said. He added that remarks by ambassador Bassam Amush published Sunday "were misinterpreted and do not reflect Jordan's desire to establish friendly relations with Iran," AFP reported. However, he refrained from any direct comment on Amush's remarks.
Iran Monday branded as "undiplomatic" the remarks, which accused Tehran of unspecified "security violations" in Jordan.
Amush told Jordan's Al-Arab Al-Yawm newspaper that he "informed the Iranian authorities that Jordan had taken notice of acts carried out by Iran inside Jordanian territory that violate the country's security". He added the Iranian authorities were hampering his diplomatic activity in Tehran.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi told a news conference: "We are studying these suggestions, but what I can say at this juncture is that it was undiplomatic."
Diplomatic ties between the two states resumed in 1991 after a 10-year-break, during which Tehran attacked the late King Hussein's relations with the former Shah and his support for Baghdad in the 1980-1988 Iraq-Iraq war.
Relations have improved since King Abdullah II ascended the throne in February 1999, and the monarch met Iranian President Mohammad Khatami on the sidelines of the millennium summit in New York in September 2000. However, Abdullah has indefinitely postponed a visit to Tehran, which was to have taken place in February 2001. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
