Jordan’s king protests ‘regular attacks’ by Iran-tied militias on border

AMMAN — In an interview published earlier today, King Abdullah II protests attacks on Jordan’s borders by “militias linked to Iran,” following deadly clashes with drug smugglers on the frontier with Syria.

Jordan faces “regular attacks on its borders by militias linked to Iran,” he tells the Al-Rai newspaper.

Abdullah calls for “a change of behavior by Iran” and said that Jordan “does not want tensions in the region.”

“Jordan, like the rest of the Arab countries, seeks good relations with Iran, with mutual respect, good neighborliness, respect for the sovereignty of other states, and non-interference in their affairs,” the king says.

Abdullah said that Jordan, like other Arab nations, was being targeted by smugglers of drugs and arms that he said were in transit to Europe.

“Jordan is coordinating with its brothers (Arab countries) to confront this and protect its borders,” he says.

The Jordanian army conducts regular anti-smuggling operations on the border with Syria, where Iran-backed fighters support the Damascus regime in a civil war that erupted in 2011.