Israel Joins Jordan in Intercepting Iranian Missile Targeting Aqaba

Israeli forces, together with Jordan, intercepted a missile fired from Iran towards the Jordanian city of Aqaba on Sunday, according to local time. When asked by AFP about reports of explosions near the Israeli city of Eilat, an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israeli and Jordanian forces had intercepted a projectile. Minutes before the interception, the Israeli military stated it had detected a missile launched from Iran heading towards Aqaba and warned of possible subsequent impacts on Israeli territory. Meanwhile, the Jordanian military said it had shot down three Iranian missiles that targeted the kingdom, while a fourth fell in a remote area, without specifying the location. Air raid sirens were activated in the Jordanian capital, Amman, and other parts of the kingdom. In a separate statement, the Israeli military later said it had launched several interceptors towards missile debris to prevent impacts on Israeli territory. As a result, fragments of the interceptor missile were found in an open area near the city of Eilat. No damage or injuries were reported. However, the Jordanian government earlier denied reports that authorities had ordered the evacuation of the airport and port in Aqaba. The denial came after the United States embassy stated that evacuations had been carried out due to a credible threat. Jordanian government spokesperson Mohammad al-Momani told AFP that authorities had not issued any decision to evacuate Aqaba Airport or the port, and both were operating normally. The US embassy statement followed an announcement by the US military that two service members had been killed in Jordan and one was missing after a heavy Iranian attack on Friday. This marked the first casualties among their forces since fighting with Iran resumed this month. Jordan has repeatedly announced that it has retaliated against Iranian attacks in recent days.