Ayman Safadi: Jordan will not be a battlefield for Israel or Iran

Jordan's foreign minister said Saturday the kingdom will not be a battleground for Iran or Israel, as the region braces for a possible new wave of attacks by Tehran and its allies following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and a senior military official in Lebanon's Hezbollah group.

"We will not be an arena for Iran or Israel. We have been informed that we will not allow anyone to penetrate our airspace and thus endanger the lives of our citizens," Safadi said in a television interview.

"We will confront anything that passes over our airspace," he added.

Jordan said in April it had intercepted flying objects entering its airspace as Tehran launched drone and missile attacks on Israel in the first direct attack of its kind.

After the attack, which came in response to what was believed to be an Israeli strike on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus, officials from Jordan, Iraq and Turkey said Iran had sent advance warnings about its movements.

Iran has repeatedly vowed to "punish" Israel since Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran on July 31. Tehran and Hamas have accused Israel of being behind the killing.

These fears were heightened by the killing of Hezbollah military commander Fouad Shukr in an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs hours before Haniyeh's assassination.

(Agencies)