Regional officials urged restraint on Saturday at a security forum in Bahrain amid rising fears of renewed escalation in the Middle East.
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Regional leaders called for calm on Saturday as concerns grew about a potential new escalation involving the U.S., Israel and Iran.
Speaking at the security forum in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed ElKhereiji said the message from the region is that it wants a return to peace, adding that efforts are underway to prevent a military escalation and reach an agreement that ends the crisis with Iran.
ElKhereiji said that while efforts were being made to prevent escalation, no one can predict the outcome of those efforts.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said an escalation in the region would be extremely destructive, warning that a “second round” would be more dangerous and would “lead to nowhere.”
At the same forum, Syria’s Foreign Minister Assad al-Shibani said Syria and Jordan share responsibility for border security, and said a high-level meeting is expected next month to discuss arrangements.
Al-Shibani said there are no “skirmishes” between Syria and Jordan, following increased tensions after Jordanian strikes in Syria last week.
Jordan said the strikes killed 20 militants from the extremist Islamic State group, while acknowledging that civilians were also killed; Syrian authorities reported seven people were killed in the strikes, most of them women and children.
Separately, al-Shibani said Syria is discussing whether to evaluate joining the Mecca Pact, a Saudi-led defense alliance that includes Turkey and Pakistan, adding that regardless of whether Syria joins, it believes the region needs a security structure.
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