Jordan Armed Forces intercept 18 Iranian ballistic missiles targeting kingdom
- Last updated: September 9, 2026 | 12:00
Jordan Armed Forces (JAF) - Arab Army announced that the kingdom came under a missile attack from Iranian territory over the past few hours.
Petra News Agency quoted the spokesperson of the Jordan Armed Forces as saying that Jordanian air defence systems engaged 20 ballistic missiles fired toward Jordanian territory, successfully intercepting and destroying 18 of them. Two missiles fell in unpopulated areas.
Field assessments confirmed that no casualties were recorded as a result of the attack, the spokesperson added, stressing that the armed forces addressed the threat in accordance with established operational procedures to protect the kingdom's airspace and ensure public safety. Continuous monitoring, tracking, and evaluation remain underway.
Specialised teams have begun securing the locations where debris and shrapnel fell, taking all necessary precautions to verify the safety of surrounding areas, the spokeperson said.
According to another report, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it fired ballistic missiles at a base in Jordan used by the US military and attacked 10 ships on Wednesday, after the US said it had destroyed five Iranian oil tankers, in a sharp escalation of the six-month-old war.
Increased attacks by both the US and Iran have shattered a month of relative calm, hitting military, shipping and energy assets, sending oil prices surging and drawing in regional allies in recent days.
The Americans said they destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday. The US military's Central Command posted video of the strikes, which it called a response to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeting a US Navy warship twice with ballistic missiles over the previous two days. No Americans were harmed, the US said.
"Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships, and for every time they do that or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters during a visit to Colombia.
Iran then carried out a ballistic missile attack on a base used by US forces near Al Azraq in Jordan, according to an IRGC statement on state media.
Although Iran said its missiles inflicted heavy damage, Jordan said its air defences intercepted 18 of the 20 Iranian missiles, with two falling in unpopulated areas, and that there were no casualties. A US official said Iran’s strikes in Jordan were ineffective and all American troops were accounted for.
The IRGC said on Wednesday it also attacked 10 ships, including two US vessels and eight oil tankers, attempting to cross a "prohibited and unsafe" area of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy conduit largely choked off by Iranian attacks.
Iran has targeted US assets and allies in the region throughout the war, including in Jordan several times, killing at least two US military personnel during one strike in July.
Iran has also threatened oil tankers in Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports, according to a statement carried by state media.
Oil prices extended gains in early trade on Wednesday with Brent crude nearing $100 a barrel on market concerns over the disruption of oil tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
Recent attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on top energy producer Saudi Arabia have added to supply concerns.
Reuters