Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Safadi told CNN Monday he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is using the fight with Iran to take attention away from the war on Gaza.
"The Israeli Prime Minister has always wanted to invoke some sort of confrontation with Iran. Now, as the international pressure on Israel to stop the aggression on Gaza continues, invoking a fight with Iran is something that, we believe, he thinks could dilute that pressure, and could take attention away from Gaza," Safadi told CNN’s Becky Anderson.
“The issue is in Gaza and the West Bank, and our focus needs to continue to be on that because unless we solve that, then the chances for regional escalation will continue,” Safadi said.
More on Iran's attack: Safadi said Jordan will do whatever is within its means to protect the kingdom, explaining why the country intercepted some of the drones and missiles that entered its airspace Saturday night.
“What we did was consistent with our long-standing policy and any projectiles, drones, whatever that enters our space historically and we'll continue to deal with it because it poses a threat to Jordan,” Safadi said. “We are in the range of fire and any missiles or projectile that could fall in Jordan would cause harm to Jordan. So we did what we have to do and let me be very clear. We will do the same regardless of where those drones are from. From Israel, from Iran, from anybody else,” he added.