Jordan's top diplomat makes rare visit to Iran as fears of a wider regional war soar

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Jordan’s foreign minister met Iran’s acting foreign minister in Tehran on Sunday as the United States and its Arab allies try to prevent a wider war after the back-to-back killings of top Iran-allied militants sparked vows of revenge against Israel.

Ayman Safadi is the first senior Jordanian official to pay an official visit to Iran in over 20 years. Jordan is a close Western ally and helped intercept scores of missiles and drones fired by Iran toward Israel in April. Iran said it was retaliating for the killing of its generals in an Israeli strike in Syria.

Many fear Iran and its regional allies could launch a similar attack following the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander in an Israeli strike on Beirut last week and of Hamas’ top political leader Ismail Haniyeh in an explosion in Tehran a day later. Both attacks were widely blamed on Israel, which has acknowledged killing the Hezbollah commander. Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas have vowed to avenge the killings.

Jordan, which borders Israel to the east, would likely be in the path of any Iranian retaliatory strike.

Safadi “will deliver a message from His Majesty King Abdullah II to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the situation in the region and bilateral relations,” Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said earlier in a statement.

The foreign minister will later meet the newly elected Iranian president, according to Iran's state TV.

Safadi insisted that the tension in the region would end only with the cessation of the war in Gaza during his meeting with acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, state TV reported, adding that the two discussed bilateral relations, developments in the region and “the Zionists’ heinous act of assassinating the martyr Haniyeh.”

After the meeting, Jordan's foreign ministry said in a statement that Safadi's visit was to hold discussions on the “dangerous escalation” across the Middle East. “We want our region to live in security, peace and stability, and we want the escalation to end,” Safadi was quoted as saying, calling for an end to the war in the Gaza Strip and a resumption of talks for a Palestinian state.

Safadi reiterated Jordan’s condemnation of Haniyeh’s killing, calling it an “escalatory step” and urged for calm, fearing a regional war would have a “devastating impact on everyone.”

“We have begun an in-depth dialogue that we are completing now, within the consultation framework on how our position can be clear in condemning the crime committed, and in emphasizing the need to respect Iran’s sovereignty and international law, while at the same time protecting our region from catastrophic consequences,” he added.

The last time a senior Jordanian official traveled to Iran on an official visit was in 2004 when then-Prime Minister Faisal al-Fayez went to Tehran. Last week, Jordan sent a lower-ranking official to Pezeshkian's inauguration.

Hamas leader Haniyeh, who was in Tehran to attend the ceremony, died in an explosion that Iranian authorities have said was caused by a short-range projectile.

Jordan cooperates with American forces under the umbrella of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East and works closely with other militaries, including those of Israel and Saudi Arabia.

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Associated Press writer Omar Akour in Amman, Jordan contributed to this report.

Iran's acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, right, welcomes Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi for their meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, right, is welcomed by Iran's acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, for their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, right, is welcomed by Iran's acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, for their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran's acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, right, welcomes Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi for their meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran's acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, left, and Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, attend a meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran's acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani sits in a meeting with Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi sits in a meeting with Iran's acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, left, and Iran's acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, shake hands before the start of their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, left, and Iran's acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, shake hands before the start of their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, right, is welcomed by Iran's acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, for their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

FILE - Jordan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi speaks with the media as he arrives for a meeting at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, May 27, 2024. Jordan's foreign minister is expected in Iran on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2025, according to Iranian media, as the United States and its Arab allies try to prevent a wider war after the back-to-back killings of top Iran-allied militants sparked vows of revenge against Israel. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, file)

NEW YORK (AP) — He had some help: Morgan Wallen tops the 2024 Country Music Association award nominations with seven.

For a third year in a row, Wallen is up for both the top prize — entertainer of the year — and the male vocalist categories.

Rounding out the entertainer of the year categories are Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Chris Stapleton and Lainey Wilson.

Post Malone's massive radio hit, “I Had Some Help,” which features Wallen, is the main reason why the country singer leads the pack this year. It is up for single, song, musical event and music video of the year. His last nomination is a second one in the musical event category, for his collaboration with Eric Church, “Man Made a Bar.”

Single of the year is awarded to the artist, producer and mix engineers; song of the year is given to the songwriters.

Ahead of the nominations announcement, some fans speculated that Beyoncé, whose landmark country-and-then-some reclamation “Cowboy Carter” was released during the eligibility window, could receive a nomination at the 2024 CMAs. It did not.

Earlier this year, the album hit No. 1 on the Billboard country albums chart, making her the first Black woman to top the chart since its 1964 inception.

The album was five years in the making, a direct result of what Beyoncé has called “an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed … and it was very clear that I wasn’t,” most likely a reference to a 2016 CMAs performance that resulted in racist backlash.

The CMA Awards are nominated and voted on by members of the Country Music Association, which includes music executives, artists, publicists, songwriters and other industry professionals.

Wallen is followed by both Cody Johnson, who is also nominated in the male vocalist category for the third year in a row, and 7-time male vocalist of the year winner, Stapleton.

Stapleton and Johnson have five nominations each.

But Stapleton could take home seven trophies, should he sweep his categories.

Stapleton is both an artist and producer on “White Horse,” up for single of the year, and “Higher,” up for album of the year.

At the Country Music Awards, production credits are not counted as separate nominations, although they are factored into trophy counts.

First-time nominee Post Malone and Wilson, last year's entertainer of the year winner, are tied with four nominations. All of Malone's nominations are for “I Had Some Help.”

Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome and Hoskins are tied with three nominations for their work as producers and co-writers on “I Had Some Help.”

Jelly Roll, Combs, Kacey Musgraves and Megan Moroney also boast three nods each. The latter three could take home four trophies: Combs is both artist and producer on “Fathers & Sons,” up for album of the year. The same is true for Musgraves' album “Deeper Well.”

And Moroney is both artist and director of her nominated music video, “I'm Not Pretty.”

The 2024 CMA Awards will air on Nov. 20 on ABC at 8 p.m. Eastern. It can be streamed the next day on Hulu.

FILE - Morgan Wallen performs during the 56th annual CMA Awards in Nashville, Tenn., on Nov. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

FILE - Morgan Wallen appears at the 56th annual CMA Awards, Nov. 9, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)