ammonnews.net

By Amer Al Sabaileh

AMMONNEWS - Regardless of the declared purpose of the recent visit of the Iranian Foreign Minister to Amman, the visit opens the door for various interpretations and analysis. Broadly, it could be considered a part of the recent visits of the ‘Friends of Syria’ to neighboring countries, similar to the recent Russian visits to Turkey and Lebanon.

However, the visit of Iranian FM Ali Akbar Salehi to Jordan undoubtedly has a different political flavor. One of the important points to discuss would have been the recent attempts to modify the “Arab peace initiative.” After the recent visits of some Arab leaders to Washington, the Qatari proposal, supported by its major allies Turkey, Egypt and Hamas, seems to have inspired more enthusiasm from the American side.

This would mean the old Arab peace initiative and its supporters, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and UAE, would find themselves dealing with the consequences of the process rather being part of it. This would logically encourage the Iranians to approach Jordan, especially as Jordan will pay the highest price for being excluded from a say in the peace process in the region. Add this to the terrible economic situation Jordan is going through and the lack of meaningful aid from its historical allies.

It is also important to highlight Iranian concerns about any outbursts in the Al Anbar region in Iraq. Some regional powers do appear to be trying to ethnical and religious clashes.

From an Iranian strategic point of view, assuring the stability of Al Anbar is on the top of its objectives. Some believe that Jordan’s deep tribal and security ties with the leaders of Al Anbar would be one of the issues that lead the Iranians toward Amman. However, the Jordanian position toward Al Anbar is a bit ambiguous. According to some Iraqi sources, recently Jordanian cooperation with the Iraqi government on this issue has not been positive. This is despite after the last visit of the Iraqi Prime Minister to Amman, Jordan appeared to be too positive.

So perhaps the Iranians pushed the Jordanians to again adopt a positive level of cooperation with the Iraqi Government.

Syria was obviously on the top of the Agenda. In fact, the Iranians were seeking clarification about the rumors of a recent offensive role from the Jordanians in Syria. Predominately, the rumors were about a military preparation to take control over a chemical weapon site just inside the Syrian border with Jordan.

The Iranians would be pushing a new initiative for political settlement in Syria, where Jordan might play a major role. This would require more coordination and better relations with Iran and might lead to some high profile visits between the two countries, such as Ahmadinajad in Amman or King Abudallah in Teheran.