Jordan’s king warns US-Iran war would bring ‘untold chaos’

STRASBOURG, France — A war between the US and Iran would wreak “untold chaos” on the world, Jordan’s King Abdullah II warns in a speech to European lawmakers on the tensions boiling across the Middle East.

Although Washington and Tehran are currently in a standoff after tit-for-tat military actions over the past two weeks, the king tells the European Parliament that the danger has not passed.

“What if next time neither side steps back from the brink, dragging us all towards untold chaos? An all-out war jeopardizes the stability of the entire region,” he says.

“What’s more, it risks massive disruptions of the entire global economy including markets, but threatens a resurgence of terrorism across the world.”

The alarm is among a raft of other warnings by King Abdullah, a pro-Western leader whose country is a haven of relative stability in a Middle East roiled by proxy conflicts, sectarian violence and competition between powers inside and outside the region.

Urging greater leadership and “patience” to address the tensions, Abdullah expresses concern about developments in Syria and Iraq.

“What if Syria remains hostage to global rivalries and spirals back into civil conflict? What if we see a reemergence of ISIS and Syria becomes a staging ground for attacks against the rest of the world?” he asks. Turmoil in Iraq, he says, risks tipping that country into a cycle of “recovery and relapse — or, worse yet, conflict.”

— AFP