ALBAWABA - Despite earlier statements that Jordan announced a state of emergency in all governorates, Jordan's Minister of Government Communications denied the news.
This comes after an announcement by the Jordanian Civil Aviation Regulatory Authority of a temporary closure of Jordan's airspace to incoming, departing and crossing aircraft.
According to the authority, the decision comes in light of the escalation of tension in the region, following the attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria, which Tehran blames Israeli for the attack, and its threats to respond to the deadly attack on its embassy in Syria.
The statement reads: "The authority has taken a decision to temporarily close Jordanian airspace to all incoming, departing and crossing aircraft, starting at 20:00 UTC, that is, 11:00 pm local time, for the next several hours, and this will be continuously updated and reviewed according to developments."
The decision came "in order to preserve the safety and security of civil aviation in Jordanian airspace, in light of the escalation of surrounding risks in the region, and after assessing the risks in accordance with internationally followed standards," it added.
Iran has launched dozens of drones toward Israel, The Jerusalem Post said citing Israeli and US intelligence. Moreover, IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari confirmed that Israel is ready to defend itself against the expected Iranian strike.
The Israeli army said that it is ready to shoot down Iranian drones which are expected to reach Tel Aviv's airspace in a few hours.
The Iranian television confirmed that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's attack just began with drones launched against targets in the occupied territories.
Israeli airspace is closed until 7 a.m. on Sunday, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority said on Saturday night.
