TEHRAN — The Jordanian foreign minister has stressed that there has been no discussion of forming a military alliance in the region with the presence of the Israeli regime, saying this was not also on the agenda of the U.S. president's visit to the region in mid-July.

According to Al-Jazeera, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi stressed on Wednesday that no talks had been held on the formation of an Arab alliance with Israel.

He added that what was mentioned in the interview of the Jordan King’s interview with the CNBC was that the King stressed his support for the formation of an Arab defense pact.

It was natural for Jordan to “defend any joint Arab institutionalized action, whether security, defense or economy,” al-Safadi said.

Through his remarks the Jordanian chief diplomat dismissed as baseless reports by Western and Israeli media outlets about Tel Aviv's attempt to establish a military alliance with several Arab countries against Iran with the help of the United States.

On the other hand, al-Safadi announced, several Arab countries are conducting joint coordination prior to the U.S. president's visit to the region. He also said he was visiting Doha in the same direction to convey a message from the King of Jordan to the Emir of Qatar.

Elsewhere in the interview, al-Safadi called the issue of Palestine a fundamental issue. 

He went on to call the Syrian crisis and the security of the Arab countries on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf “very important issues”. The chief diplomat added, “We all want mechanisms that will ensure our security through dialogue and resolving concerns.”

He also described the issue of energy and food security as important challenges that require the cooperation of Arab states.

All these issues will be discussed with the American president during his visit to the region.

Concluding his interview, the Jordanian foreign minister highlighted that all Arab countries seek to establish good relations with Iran, and “to reach this stage, we must eliminate the causes of tension through dialogue.”

In an interview with CNBC on Friday, King Abdullah II of Jordan said he would support the formation of a Middle East military alliance similar to NATO, and that it can be done with countries that are like-minded.

“I’d like to see more countries in the area come into that mix,” he said.

“I would be one of the first people that would endorse a Middle East NATO,” Abdullah said.

He added, “The mission statement has to be very, very clear. Otherwise, it confuses everybody.”

The Jordanian king noted, “I’m hoping what you’re seeing in 2022 is this new vibe, I guess, in the region to say, ‘how can we connect with each other and work with each other’.”
While Iran has been vocal in expressing its objection to the concept of “regional NATO”.
 
Earlier, a report by Al-Araby-Al-Jadeed said that Cairo has sent assuring messages to Tehran that it will not be part of any military alliance that acts against Iran.

The website quoted high-ranking Egyptian sources as saying that several high-ranking Egyptian army commanders had strongly voiced their opposition to any confrontation with Iran in a meeting held at the Egyptian Armed Forces headquarters. 

The sources added that the same position has been reiterated at the Egyptian National Security Council meeting. 

The sources pointed out that the talks took place after the proposal has been made to form a regional military alliance like NATO with the inclusion of Egypt to counter Iran.

According to sources, one of the main purposes of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's visit to Oman is to send a message of confidence to Iran through Muscat about Egypt's refusal to participate in any confrontation against Iran.

The message will also be conveyed ahead of a meeting of Arab leaders with Joe Biden in Jeddah in mid-July.

Informed Egyptian sources have also said the Egyptian security entities as well as the army strongly oppose Egypt's participation in any military coalition against Iran, Al-Araby-Al-Jadeed reported on Tuesday.

The website quoted high-ranking Egyptian sources as saying that several high-ranking Egyptian army commanders had strongly voiced their opposition to any confrontation with Iran in a meeting held at the Egyptian Armed Forces headquarters.