Iran and Jordan hint at the possibility of better relations

Kingdom has been advocating rapprochement with Syria's Bashar Al Assad, Tehran's main Arab ally

A Jordanian patrol at the border with Syria, where Jordan says Iranian militias operate to smuggle narcotics into the kingdom. AP

Iran has suggested improving its relationship with Jordan as work on its ties with its most powerful Arab neighbours continues.

Relations between Jordan and Iran have deteriorated in the past two years after King Abdullah II accused pro-Iranian militias in Syria of smuggling narcotics into the kingdom.

At the same time, Jordan has been pushing for a region-wide accommodation with Syria, Iran's main ally in the area.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told the official Iranian news agency on Saturday that he talked for 40 minutes about Iraq with King Abdullah at a meeting in Jordan in December and raised the matter of a visit to Tehran.

Jordan has a defence pact with the US and is one of the largest recipients of American aid.

“Iran is attentive to (the need) to raise the level of ties and co-operation with Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,” Mr Amirabdollahian said.

“The Jordanian monarch expressed his desire to visit Tehran soon, which would be welcomed by Iran.”

The disclosure comes after a Chinese-brokered deal brought a resumption of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Iran has also said it wants to improve ties with Egypt, the most populous Arab country. Last year, the UAE returned its ambassador to Tehran.

King Abdullah was last in Tehran in September 2003, a year before he warned of a “Shiite crescent”, in reference of Iranian expansion into the Levant, helped by the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Jordan has not sent an ambassador to Tehran since rioters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in Tehran and Meshad in 2016, which prompted Riyadh to cut ties with Tehran.

The attacks followed the execution of Saudi Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia on charges linked to terrorism and other issues.

A Jordanian official confirmed that the king discussed a visit to Tehran with Mr Amirabdollahian in December but did not suggest that it would be imminent.

“The issue was brought up … provided that arrangements for such a visit would take place at the suitable time,” the official said.

With Russian coaxing, Jordan normalised relations with Syria in late 2021. It later accused Iranian militias and the Syrian military of fuelling the narcotics trade to Jordan, particularly the stimulant known as Captagon.

But Jordan has been at the forefront of efforts to reintegrate the regime of President Bashar Al Assad in the region, despite a lack of Arab consensus on Syria's rehabilitation.

Most Arab states downgraded their ties with Damascus after the regime repressed peaceful demonstrations against five decades of Assad family rule at the outbreak of the Syrian revolt in March 2011.

Jordanian officials have suggested that with Iran being an influential power in Syria and Iraq, Jordan has to talk to Tehran to solve its problems with the Syrian regime and with the Iranian-supported Shiite power brokers in Baghdad.

The issue was discussed at a closed-door meeting in Amman at the end of the year, attended by western researchers and figures from the Jordanian establishment.

A former Jordanian official at the meeting gave the example of failed efforts by the kingdom for years to raise its share of the Iraqi market for consumer products.

“Every time we tried, the Iraqi side would demur,” he said. “Then they bluntly told us that Iran would need to give its approval.”