Israel says Iran missile towards Jordan’s Aqaba intercepted

Israeli and Jordanian forces intercepted an Iranian missile aimed at the Jordanian city of Aqaba on Sunday, the Israeli military said, after Amman denied the city’s airport and seaport were evacuated over a threat.

When asked by AFP about reports of explosions near the Israeli city of Eilat, an Israeli military spokeswoman said both Israeli and Jordanian forces had intercepted a projectile.

Minutes before the interception, the Israeli military said it had detected missiles launched from Iran towards Aqaba and warned of the possibility of “spillover” into Israeli territory.

The Jordanian military meanwhile said it had downed “three Iranian missiles that targeted the kingdom’s territory”, while a fourth fell in a deserted area, without specifying where.

Air raid sirens were activated in the Jordanian capital, Amman, and other parts of the kingdom.

Later, in a separate statement, the Israeli military said it “launched several interceptors toward missile debris in order to prevent debris impact within Israeli territory”.

“As a result, interceptor fragments were identified in an open area near the city of Eilat. No damage or injuries were reported.”

However, the Jordanian government had earlier denied reports that authorities ordered the evacuation of Aqaba’s airport and seaport, after the US embassy said they had been evacuated over a “credible threat”.

Jordanian government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani told AFP that “authorities have not issued any decisions to evacuate Aqaba Airport or the seaport, and both are operating normally”.

The US embassy statement came after the US military announced that two service members were killed in Jordan and one was missing following a barrage of Iranian strikes on Friday.

This marked the first fatalities among its forces since fighting with Iran resumed this month.

Jordan has repeatedly announced that it has countered Iranian attacks in recent days.

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