Jordan denies ordering evacuation at Aqaba despite US warning

Jordanian officials said Sunday they have not ordered any evacuation of the airport or seaport in Aqaba, contradicting an earlier statement from the US embassy in Amman that said both sites had been evacuated over a credible threat.

Government spokesperson Mohammad Al Momani told reporters that relevant Jordanian authorities have recorded no potential threats in the past few hours and that the airport and port continue to operate normally.

The US embassy had earlier said it evacuated the airport and seaport due to a specific and credible threat, though it did not provide additional details. The embassy advised Americans to avoid traveling to either location and urged them to continue following all security guidance issued by Jordanian authorities.

The discrepancy between the two statements comes a day after the US military said two of its personnel died in Jordan and a third went missing following an Iranian attack. Jordan has repeatedly said over the past week that its forces intercepted Iranian missiles passing through its airspace.

The conflicting accounts highlight the confusion that has accompanied the recent surge in regional hostilities, with foreign missions and host governments at times offering different assessments of the security situation on the ground. Aqaba, Jordan’s only coastal city and a key hub for both commercial shipping and tourism, sits near the borders of Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, making any disruption there a matter of heightened concern for regional security officials as tensions between the United States and Iran continue to spread across multiple countries.