The Middle East is approaching two weeks since the Israeli killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran but the expected major Iranian retaliation still has not come. Things have ratcheted somewhat on Israel's northern border amid the daily titi-for-tat with Hezbollah, but Iran's ballistic missile launchers have remained silent.
Amid the waiting game, Jordan has reportedly informed Israel and Arab countries that it will not allow warring parties to use its airspace and is ready to confront any Iranian projectile that breaches its skies, as it did on April 13.
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| King Abdullah of Jordan, Getty Images |
The Jordanian government recently told Sky News Arabia that no country's military will be allowed use of Jordanian airspace "under any circumstances."
Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi has emphasized that the military remains committed to defending its airspace if it is "violated" and will prevent Jordan from being turned into a "battlefield."
Interestingly, some of the latest statements were prompted by a regional report claiming that Jordan has an agreement allowing Israel to use its airspace to repel Iranian aggression.
An outlet called Arabic Post claimed to cite a Jordanian official who said, "There is security, military, and intelligence coordination between Jordan and Israel regarding the expected Iranian response, which includes allowing the Israeli Air Force to participate in confronting potential Iranian attacks that may pass through the Kingdom's skies."
Jordan is calling the report false. The outlet had further claimed it is allowing Israel to conduct surveillance flights in its skies, also in cooperation with Cyprus.
But despite Amman's denial, the reality remains that Jordan’s King Abdullah II has long had a very close security and intelligence relationship with the United States.
It
hosts CIA hubs, and US special forces have long had a presence at
the Hashemite kingdom's military bases in the north, particularly
related to the ten-year long proxy war in Syria.
NEW:
— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) August 10, 2024
🇯🇴 🇮🇱 Israel received the green light and support from Jordan to use their airspace.
Iran was banned.
A Jordanian official has confirmed that his country will allow Israel to use its airspace to counter an Iranian attack, according to Israeli Channel 12. pic.twitter.com/c1Me87lKBW
By extension, Jordan is seen as 'friendly' to Israel and is among America's reliable 'anti-Iran axis' partners in the region. However, Jordan also has a very large Palestinian refugee population which it must be careful not to anger, and is thus never too openly sympathetic to its neighbor Israel.