Amman, March 7 (Petra) – The Jordan Armed Forces- Arab Army (JAF) has beefed up units deployed along the Kingdom's borders amid the escalation even before the war between the United States and Iran began, Military Media Director Brigadier General Mustafa Heyari said on Saturday.

"All formations and units have been placed on immediate alert to achieve the highest levels of readiness to deal with various threats and challenges," he told a joint press briefing with Public Security Directorate (PSD) spokesman Colonel Amer Sartawi at the National Center for Security and Crisis Management.

Heyari said border guard units have been reinforced with the necessary equipment, supplies, and weapons to deal with these exceptional circumstances and counter any attempts to threaten the Kingdom's security and stability.

Since the war erupted last Saturday, following airstrikes launched by the United States and Israel against Iran, JAF has taken the necessary measures, activating Jordanian air defense systems to intercept missiles and drones within their ranges, he said.

Military and defense cooperation agreements with a number of brotherly and friendly armies have been activated to provide the broadest possible air cover to protect the Kingdom's skies. This was preceded by intensified and continuous monitoring of Jordanian airspace by aircraft and radar, he added.

Hours after the start of the war, he said, Iran attacked countries in the region and also targeted Jordanian territory, despite the Kingdom informing all the parties that it will not be a battleground for anyone, and emphasizing that its territory will not be a launchpad for attacks against Iran.

In a week, Iran targeted the Kingdom's territory with 119 missiles and drones, that is 60 missiles and 59 drones, which were directed at purely Jordanian targets, meaning they were not incoming missiles as some might think, said Heyari.

He confirmed that the Royal Jordanian Air Force intercepted and destroyed 108 missiles and drones, but defenses failed to intercept 11 others, referring to cooperation with friendly nations with which Jordan has joint defense agreements.

The spokesman further stated that the missiles and drones were targeting vital sites and facilities inside Jordanian territory, which were successfully countered, with air defense systems engaging the missiles and drones with in debris falling in the Kingdom.

He also said JAF tracked a statement from a faction in a neighboring country claiming that Jordan was a launchpad for attacks on sites in that country, a charge categorically denied at the time.

Jordan has consistently affirmed that it will not initiate threats against its neighbors or the surrounding region, but at the same time, it will not hesitate to address any threat to its security from any country or faction, he vowed.

The spokesman also referred to coordination with the Civil Aviation Authority to regulate civil aviation and ensure the accuracy of procedures taken to maintain the safety of Jordanian airspace.

For his part, Sartawi said that since last Saturday, the Public Security Directorate has raised its level of preparedness to deal with the situation as it activated emergency plans.

Since the region entered a military escalation, the PSD has been working on awareness-raising media materials with preventative tips and guidelines to protect lives and property, he said.

All Civil Defense personnel have been placed on alert and have taken on the task of sounding sirens as part of precautions to raise the readiness level to deal with any potential emergency, he said.

Civil Defense and Public Security teams have also been reinforced to respond to reports by deploying engineering teams to back up these efforts, whether by isolating or securing sites where debris has fallen and removing hazardous materials, added Sartawi.

He said the Civil Defense and police had received 187 reports of incidents of falling missiles and drones, mainly debris and shrapnel, across most governorates.

The PSD spokesman said the numbers gradually increased during the initial days of the war, explaining that multiple reports of the same incident are treated as a single report. He said debris fell in several regions and governorates in the Kingdom, mainly Amman, Irbid, Zarqa, Mafraq, Ma'an, Karak, and the Badia region.

He said some of the incidents occurred in residential areas, while others were in open areas as a result of mid-air missile and drone interceptions. He also reported 19 injuries by falling debris in various parts of the Kingdom, with most injuries minor.

The injured received treatment and were discharged from hospitals, he said, adding that some homes and vehicles suffered minor damage.

Sartawi also said media and digital content on websites and social platforms was being monitored to identify, refute, and address rumors and misinformation.

He again stressed instructions by official bodies, JAF and security agencies to citizens and residents, include not to approach any unfamiliar object or shrapnel, as these may be dangerous and to immediately report any suspicious object to the security apparatuses via the emergency number 911.

He also called for relying on information from official sources and shunning rumors and misleading news.

//Petra//SS