Joe Biden, Jordan King Abdullah discuss Middle East situation

Biden “strongly condemned” the drone and missile attack launched by Iran, which the US president said threatened Jordan and the Jordanian people”

US President Joe Biden and Jordan’s King Abdullah II have spoken about the current situation in the Middle East, the White House said in a statement.

Biden “strongly condemned” the drone and missile attack launched by Iran on Saturday, which the US president said “also threatened Jordan and the Jordanian people.”

The White House said that both leaders would “continue to monitor the situation and will remain in close touch over the coming days.”

The situation in Gaza was also discussed and the leaders “reaffirmed their cooperation to increase critical humanitarian assistance to Gaza,” while also seeking a way of ending the crisis as soon as possible.

While it is officially not known which of Israel’s neighbours participated in the shooting down of the wave of missiles fired by Iran on Israel, one such country appeared to be Jordan.

“There was an assessment that there was a real danger of Iranian marches and missiles falling on Jordan, and the armed forces dealt with this danger. And if this danger came from Israel, Jordan would take the same action,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi said in an interview on Al-Mamlaka state television at the weekend.

Germany’s Scholz says steps must be taken to ‘contribute to de-escalation’

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday said that Israel had managed to defend itself from Iran’s missile attack and that efforts now needed to be made to deescalate the situation.

“Everyone agrees that the way in which Israel managed to successfully repel this attack... is really impressive,” Scholz said in

Shanghai during a three-day visit to China.

“That is a success that should not be given away, and therefore our advice is to contribute to deescalation,” Scholz said.

Also speaking on Monday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that Israel’s successful defensive efforts needed to be backed up with diplomatic measures to prevent an escalation.

“Israel has won defensively thanks to its strong air defence and the efforts of the US, Britain, and Arabic states,” Baerbock told a news conference in Paris.

“Now we must prevent an escalation in the region,” Baerbock said, adding she had spoken to Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday and clearly warned him about further escalation.