An Iranian military spokesperson threatened Jordan, escalating tensions over the kingdom’s interception of Iranian strikes and its hosting of US troops.

What happened: Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Iranian military’s Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, addressed “the Jordanian Muslim people” in an Arabic-language video published Tuesday that was circulated by pro-Iran accounts on social media. In his remarks, he called on Jordanians to demand their government not allow Jordanian territory to be used in American and Israeli attacks on Iran. 

“[We] demand their government not allow the criminal America and the usurping, false, Zionist entity use of Jordanian lands in aggression against Islamic Iran and its Muslim people,” said Zolfaghari. 

Approximately 4,000 US troops are stationed in Jordan across several sites, including Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in the country’s east and Tower 22 near the Syrian border. In early 2024, three US soldiers at Tower 22 were killed in a drone strike, with American officials blaming the attack on Iran-backed militias in Iraq.