Iran upset with comments attributed to new Jordanian monarch

Jordanian sources denied statements attributed to King Abdullah, over which Iran has officially protested, that accused Iran of threatening the security of the Gulf states.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Jordanian ambassador in Iran and informed him of Iran's formal protest.

Meanwhile Jordan denied a report published in El-Haiah newspaper that King Abdullah said Iran forms a danger to the countries of the region.

The Jordanian embassy in Tehran stated that what was published by the newspaper in this concern is completely false and has nothing to do with truth.

The Jordanian ambassador in Tehran said the newspaper fabricated the statements it attributed to King Abdullah, and confirmed not to publish any hostile declarations from the new Jordanian monarch against Iran.

Irans reaction to the report coincided with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami paying condolences to the Jordanian government on King Hussein's death, as Khatami expressed his hope that relations between the two countries would witnesses new development.