The port of Aqaba, Jordan. [Getty Images]
The port of Aqaba, Jordan. [Getty Images]

The US Embassy in Amman said Sunday that Jordanian authorities had issued an evacuation order for the international airport and port in Aqaba, the Red Sea city, warning of a "specific and credible threat" — only for Iran to fire missiles at the area shortly after Jordan denied any such order had been issued.

The embassy posted the warning on X, formerly Twitter, urging all Americans to avoid traveling to the airport or port and to stay away from military bases in Jordan.

Jordan's government spokesperson Muhammad al-Momani told the state-run Petra news agency that no evacuation order had been issued for the Aqaba airport or port and that both facilities were operating normally. Al-Momani also said no potential threats had been detected in the preceding hours.

Shortly afterward, however, the Jordanian military announced that Iran had fired four missiles toward Jordanian territory, three of which were intercepted by air defenses. The fourth landed in a sparsely populated area in southern Jordan.

The Israeli military issued air raid alerts, warning that missiles fired toward Aqaba could reach nearby Israeli territory. Explosions were heard in the Israeli port city of Eilat, which lies close to Aqaba, as the missiles were shot down, and the Israeli military activated its Iron Dome air defense system in response, the Times of Israel reported.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said immediately after the interceptions that if Iran fired missiles at Israel, "we will attack with full firepower," AFP reported.

Katz added that "the United States may change its policy," and said Israel was "prepared for both defensive and offensive measures against Iran" in that event.

The strikes come amid an escalating military exchange between the United States and Iran, with Iranian retaliatory attacks on US assets in the Middle East intensifying in recent weeks. The spillover into Israeli territory — from a country already dissatisfied with the truce — has heightened fears of a broader regional conflict.

US Central Command said Friday that Iran had attacked Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Azraq, Jordan, with ballistic missiles and drones, killing two US service members and leaving one missing.

The Gulf of Aqaba, bordered by Jordan, Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, connects to the Red Sea. Analysts have also raised the possibility that Iran could mobilize Yemen's Houthi rebels to operate in the area.

The US Department of State had recommended in March that US government employees and their families stationed in Jordan consider departing the country.


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