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Jordan king urges Iran to avoid 'rattling' stability in region |
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Thursday, 25 January 2007 |
AMMAN, Jan 24, 2007 (AFP) - Jordan's King Abdullah II called on Iran to avoid "rattling stability" in Iraq, the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, in an interview published Wednesday.
"We wish to see positive and balanced relations between Iraq and Iran, and between Arab countries and Iran," the monarch told the London-based Arabic daily Asharq Al-Awsat, also carried by Jordan's Petra news agency.
"We believe that Iran must refrain from seeking to rattle stability in Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq and any other part of the region so that we can make progress towards building such relations," he said.
"Iran is one of Iraq's strongest neighbours and has an influence there, but we hope it is a positive influence" in a country plagued by Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence, he said.
"The situation in Iraq is very dangerous and complicated. If sectarian strife in Iraq persists it will set ablaze everything in its path and spread to all the countries in the region," he said.
"We hope the efforts of all of Iraq's neighbours, including Iran, will focus on helping Iraq avoid civil war," he added.
He reiterated that the Palestinian issue remained the core of conflict in the Middle East and called for a solution by year's end to avert "new catastrophes like what happened in Lebanon".
"The game has changed after the war on Lebanon and the players have also changed," he said of last year's conflict between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia.
"Everyone, starting with Israel, must realise that if we don't reach a solution to the Palestinian issue this year, everyone will pay the price," he warning, stressing the outcome must lead to Palestinian statehood.
Turning to the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have sought haven in Jordan, he said they have put "pressure on infrastructure" and meager resources of the desert kingdom but were welcome as long as they abide by the law.
"Everyone who lives on Jordanian soil must abide by Jordanian laws and preserve its security and stability, including our Iraqi brothers," King Abdullah said.
"We will never allow Jordan to be used as a staging post to foment any problems against Iraq," he added. |
