Amid Concerns About Anticipated Iranian Attack On Israel, Articles In Jordanian Government Daily Say Jordan Will Intercept Any Weapon Entering Its Airspace

Amid fears that Iran's anticipated retaliation for the July 31, 2024 assassination of Hamas leader Isma'il Haniya in Tehran, which is attributed to Isael, will lead to a regional escalation, and amid Jordan's concern that Iranian weapons fired at Israel will pass through its airspace,  the kingdom is conveying, through formal channels and in its government press, that it will prevent any invasion of its airspace, as it did during Iran's previous attack on Israel. During that attack, on April 14, 2024, Jordan took part in intercepting the Iranian drones and missiles, and clarified that it regarded the breach  of its airspace as a violation of its sovereignty and that it was only defending its borders.[1]  

In the past week, Jordan and Iran have exchanged official messages, and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi visited Tehran on August 4 and met with his Iranian counterpart, Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani. In an interview on Iranian TV, Al-Safadi clarified that Jordan's King Abdullah had instructed him to "accept the invitation to visit Tehran" in order to settle the "disagreements" between the two countries "in a manner that will serve both their interests," based on mutual respect and non-intervention in each other's affairs.[2] The Jordanian government press reported that Al-Safadi had clarified to Iran that his country would intercept any weapon breaching its airspace.[3] In an interview with Al-Arabiya on August 10, Al-Safadi added that "we will not be an arena for Iran or Israel… We informed [both of them] that we will not allow anyone to infiltrate our airspace and endanger our people… We will intercept anything passing through our airspace and regard it as a danger to ourselves and our citizens."[4]

Conversely, the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, which is close to Hizbullah, reported on August 6, two days after Al-Safadi's visit to Tehran, that "Amman received firm messages from Iran, that it must remain neutral in any exchange of fire [between Israel and Iran]." According to the daily, "Tehran [also] conveyed clear messages to the countries of the region, that they must not take part in defending Israel, and hinted that this could put them in danger." It added that Al-Safadi had tried to reassure Iran on this point.[5]

It should be noted that the relations between Jordan and Iran have been very strained, especially since the outbreak of the war between Israel on the one hand and Hamas and the Iran-backed militias in the region on the other. Jordan believes that Iran is acting to undermine its stability and overthrow its regime, inter alia by smuggling weapons and drugs into the kingdom and activating elements of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and Hamas there, which, since the outbreak of the war, have been organizing mass protests in Jordan in solidarity with the Palestinians, at which calls against the Jordanian regime have been heard.     

In fact, in the recent months, the Iran-backed militias in Iraq have openly declared their intention to arm elements in Jordan and precipitate military action against Israel from this country.  For example, on April 1, Abu Ali Al-Askari, an official in the Hizbullah Brigades militia, announced that his organization was prepared to arm 12,000 fighters in Jordan, "so we can join together in defending our Palestinian brothers." Ali Fadhlallah, an Iraqi MP on behalf of the Hizbullah Brigades, announced that the militias meant to form a force in Jordan that would also help them to act against the U.S. "Jordan is very important for the resistance axis," he said, and added that the intention was to "activate the dead front in Jordan so that it supports the factions in Palestine."[6]

Against the backdrop of this tension between Jordan and Iran, the Jordanian government daily Al-Rai has published articles that warn Iran not to use the kingdom's airspace to attack Israel and stress that this would be a violation of Joran's sovereignty.

Image: Tehran Times (Iran), September 25, 2023

The following are translated excerpts from some of these articles:

Jordanian Columnist: Our Airspace Is A Red Line; Breaching It Will Prompt A Harsher Response Than Before

Two days after the visit of Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi in Iran, Jordanian journalist Alaa Al-Qarala, a columnist for the daily Al-Rai, wrote a harsh piece in which he urged Iran, without naming it explicitly, to avoid violating Jordan's airspace and warned that Jordan's reaction, if this happens, will be more forceful than it was in April. This, he said, was part of defending Jordan's sovereignty and citizens, since the Iranian missiles often miss their mark and can end up landing on Jordanian soil. He hinted that, if Iran wants to attack Israel, it can use Syria's airspace.

He wrote: "Jordan will certainly not allow every snot-nosed and leprous tom, dick and harry, or any country in the world, to use its airspace and as a battlefield or as a stage for a show of force. Jordan has falcons that can hunt down bats, sovereignty-violators and the like. Our airspace is forbidden to every despicable aggressor. Is the message clear, or do you want to test us?  Just as Jordan has not and will not let the occupation state [i.e., Israel] use its airspace to attack another country, it will not let any [other] country use it as a battlefield. The security of our citizens and residents is above every [other] consideration or sentiment… We are a proud and honorable sovereign state, and we will not allow anyone to enter our airspace without our consent. The homeland is our honor and we will not let anyone harm it, at any cost.