Explosions were heard in Eilat on Wednesday morning as Jordanian air defenses intercepted missiles fired from Iran toward the kingdom, including the Aqaba region across the border from the Israeli resort city.
Jordan’s military later said six missiles had been launched from Iranian territory against Jordan. Four were intercepted, while the remaining two landed in remote, uninhabited areas without causing casualties or property damage.
Interception over Eilat skies
“Air defense systems detected six missiles launched from Iranian territory against Jordan today,” the military said. “Four missiles were intercepted, while the other two landed in two remote and uninhabited areas, without causing casualties or material damage.”
The Jordanian military added that the country’s airspace remained under continuous operational surveillance. “The armed forces will respond to any aerial threat against Jordanian territory while safeguarding the kingdom’s sovereignty and the safety of its citizens,” it said.
Residents of Eilat reported hearing loud explosions during the attack. Al Jazeera said blasts heard in Aqaba were caused by missile interceptions. The IDF said Israel had not launched any interceptors and that no impact was known to have occurred inside Israeli territory.
The Eilat municipality said security officials identified the explosions as the result of Iranian missile fire toward Aqaba. Security forces searched nearby open areas to rule out falling debris, but no impacts, casualties or damage were reported. Several flights heading to southern Israel were delayed in the air, including services from Ben Gurion Airport to Eilat and from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv.
The missile fire came as dozens of prominent Jordanian political, academic, cultural, tribal and nationalist figures issued a statement calling on the government to end the presence of foreign forces, particularly American troops, on Jordanian soil. They argued that the foreign military presence was exposing Jordan to mounting security, political and economic risks as the regional war expanded.
The signatories demanded that the government disclose the full terms of its military and security agreement with the United States, including its annexes, saying Jordanians and their constitutional institutions had the right to know about commitments that could affect the country’s sovereignty and national security. The statement stressed that Jordan was “not a party to the war” and that its people should not bear the consequences of policies that did not serve the country’s interests. It also called for Jordanian airports, ports, military bases and strategic facilities to remain neutral and not be used in the conflict.
Iran has fired missiles at Jordan in recent days, including toward Aqaba, which lies opposite Eilat. Debris from previous interceptions crossed into Israeli territory and fell in northern Eilat. Experts cited by The New York Times said Jordan was playing an increasingly central role in US military operations against Iran, after Washington moved forces from Gulf states to locations considered safer before the war and during its opening stages.
Footage of the missiles over Irbid, Jordan
Unlike the wealthier Gulf states, Jordan is heavily dependent on US assistance and has less room to reject Washington’s requests. An Iran expert at a Washington-based Middle East research institute told the Times that Gulf states had become more reluctant to allow the United States to use their bases extensively for attacks on Iran after being targeted themselves. Jordan, however, was not in a position to say no because of its security agreement with Washington and the dominant US role in the relationship, the expert said.
The missile fire came during an 11th consecutive night of US attacks on Iran. Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya emergency command said the United States had threatened to strike nuclear facilities and other sensitive sites, warning that such an attack would be regarded as an expansion of the war and would draw a strong response against US interests and allies. US Central Command said the latest strikes were intended to continue degrading Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian media reported attacks in Bushehr, Tabriz, Sirik in Hormozgan Province, Behbahan and Omidiyeh in Khuzestan, Chabahar and Konarak in Sistan and Baluchestan, Chavar and Abdanan in Ilam Province and Baneh in Kurdistan Province. Air defenses were also reported active over Tehran. Iranian reports said missiles struck an electrical substation near the Bushehr nuclear power plant, causing power disruptions, while state media said the attacks also targeted Bushehr Port, Sirik Port and a military site near Tabriz.
Iranian missile launches toward Jordan
Iran’s military said it retaliated against US ammunition and logistics warehouses at the Doha base in Kuwait, Al Azraq Air Base in Jordan and Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain. Before the latest wave of attacks, US President Donald Trump threatened to strike what Israel calls Pickaxe Mountain, a secretive Iranian site where Israeli officials believe centrifuges and uranium were transferred. Iran’s Mizan news agency also reported that authorities had executed a man on charges connected to the mass protests that erupted in January.
Danny Citrinowicz, a former head of the Iran branch in the IDF Military Intelligence research division and now a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, said the confrontation had not yet crossed the limits established by both sides. “The attacks are mainly against military sites around Bandar Abbas and along the Iranian coast, while the Iranians continue responding against American bases across the Gulf,” he told ynet. “There has not yet been a truly dramatic change.”
Citrinowicz said Trump was approaching a decision point as mediators attempted to secure a 10-day ceasefire and resume negotiations. “At the moment, neither side appears interested,” he said. “We may therefore see another escalation, with Pickaxe Mountain on the agenda and the possibility that the United States will bomb it.” He warned that Iran would probably view such an attack as a major violation of the existing rules of engagement and broaden its retaliation.
He also cautioned that Israel would pay a significant price if it reentered the fighting. “It is not only Iranian fire,” he said. “We would probably also see Hezbollah and the Houthis resume their attacks.” Citrinowicz said Israel should demand that Washington define the campaign’s strategic objectives before joining it, with a focus on the Iranian nuclear program rather than only the Strait of Hormuz.
Reports that Iran had moved centrifuges to Pickaxe Mountain were deeply troubling and indicated that the nuclear program had not been destroyed, he added. Any renewed Israeli involvement would therefore have to include a meaningful effort against Iran’s remaining nuclear infrastructure. “This must be agreed with Trump before, not afterward, because he could bring us back into the fighting and stop us two days later,” Citrinowicz said. “We need strategic coordination.”