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Jordan has requested Patriot defences from the US to counter a new ballistic missile threat, a military spokesman said late on Sunday, as the authorities fear a spread of the Israel-Gaza war.
“We have asked the American side to bolster the Jordanian air defence system with Patriot missiles,” Army spokesman Mustafa Al Hiyari told official television.
“Among the new threats is ballistic missiles.”
The kingdom, a US ally for most of the 100 years since its inception, signed a defence agreement with Washington in 2021.
Several thousand US military personnel are also stationed in the kingdom.
Since the Gaza-Israel war started on October 7, King Abdullah and other Jordanian officials have repeatedly warned that the war could spread to other countries.
Mr Al Hiyari said that Jordan has also requested from Washington a separate anti-drone system.
There was no immediate response from Washington.
Commanders in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have also hinted at the possibility of a regional war, saying they may directly attack Israel if the conflict continues.
This would be in addition to sporadic attacks by Iranian proxies on Israeli targets from Lebanon, and from areas in Syria close to the border with Jordan.
But so far none of