Jordan denied allowing Israel to use its airspace for its strike on Iran on Saturday, with the military issuing a statement to clarify its stance.
A military source in the Jordanian army said, “no military aircraft were allowed to cross Jordanian airspace” and that “armed forces were closely following the military escalations that occurred during the past hours”.
The army added that the “Royal Air Force was monitoring the situation and was ready to protect the homeland”.
A Jordanian military source quoted in local media stressed that citizens should “take information from official sources only, and not to listen to any baseless rumours circulating”.
The statement came following several reports and eyewitness accounts saying they heard the sound of warplanes in Jordan’s airspace, at the same time as Israel conducted strikes on Iran and Syria.
Social media users in Jordan posted videos of what appeared to be fighter jets in the sky, accompanied with comments stating they were Israeli.
Jordan previously stated they would not allow the kingdom “to be a battleground for anyone and will not allow any party to violate its sovereignty and airspace, or threaten the security of its citizens”.
The Jerusalem Post reported that a country’s airspace refers to the air area above its land and sea but does not include outer space.
“There is no universally agreed-upon altitude marking the end of a nation’s airspace and the start of outer space” the outlet reported, adding that below an altitude of around 100 kilometres above sea level, is considered part of a nation’s sovereign airspace.
“Beyond this altitude is ‘outer space’ which is free from national sovereignty…allowing freedom of international activity”, the report continued.
The report noted that US-made F-16 warplanes have a maximum operational altitude of around 15,000 metres, and F-35s 18,000 metres.
The Jerusalem Post further stated that if a military aircraft did fly over Jordan, it could be considered a breach of Jordan’s airspace, and the Kingdom could respond in multiple ways, from summoning the ambassador, to filing a complaint with the UN Security Council.
In August, Jordan officially said that it would not allow any country to use its airspace for military purposes amidst growing tensions between Israel and Iran, following reports in April that Jordan allowed Israeli fighter jets into its airspace to shoot down missiles and drones launched by Iran.
Israel’s strikes on Iran on Saturday lasted several hours and involved more than 100 Israeli fighter jets, including F-35s, F-16s and F-15s.
The first wave of attacks were on Iran’s radar and air defence facilities, with military, missile and drone facilities targeted in the second and third waves.
The fighter jets carried out the strikes in groups of 25-30, in what was dubbed ‘Operation Days of Repentance’. Israeli and US air defences were on high alert, while 10 jets carried out the coordinated strikes and others provided cover. Two Iranian soldiers were killed in the strikes.
