Middle East Monitor / April 24, 2023
The Israeli government is gripped by a sense of disappointment after the ongoing rapprochement between Iran and several Arab countries, and efforts to set aside disputes in favour of returning relations to normalcy.
In this context, Ma’ariv newspaper said the Israeli state is concerned after an agreement concluded between Iran and Jordan to resume their relations, which comes just weeks after an agreement between Tehran and Riyadh to restore relations and exchange ambassadors.
The newspaper added that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi agreed to meet soon to discuss bilateral relations. It noted that during a phone call, Abdollahian assured Safadi of Tehran’s readiness to develop relations and cooperation between the two countries and reach an understanding for collaboration to enhance security.
Additionally, the newspaper quoted US experts and diplomats that the meeting between the foreign ministers of Iran and Jordan is an indication of an “unusual” development in the region’s relations with Iran, and their impression was that Saudi Arabia pushed Jordan to “settle” its diplomatic crisis with Tehran, a message that likely came from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Analysts had confirmed that the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia started to affect developments in the region, particularly in Jordan.
Last March, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced the resumption of their diplomatic relations and the reopening of their embassies within two months, this came after talks under Chinese sponsorship in Beijing.
In early 2016, Saudi Arabia severed its relations with Iran following attacks against the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in the city of Mashhad in protest against the kingdom’s execution of Saudi Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr who was convicted on “terrorism” charges.
