Jordanian sources told Al Jazeera that there is no truth to the US embassy's claim that Aqaba's airport and seaport were evacuated, contradicting the earlier alert issued by the American diplomatic mission.
Jordanian sources told Al Jazeera on Sunday that the US embassy's report of an evacuation in Aqaba is without basis, the latest denial in a rapid sequence of contradicting statements from Amman. At approximately 13:29 Jerusalem, The Zioneer published a series of updates: first, Jordanian security sources denied the evacuation claim to Al Jazeera; then, the Aqaba Ports Company CEO told Reuters that the port was operating normally and had not been evacuated; finally, the Jordanian government spokesman confirmed that no evacuation order was given and that no potential threat had been identified in recent hours.
These denials followed an earlier warning from the US embassy in Amman, which advised American citizens not to travel to Aqaba due to a specific and credible threat and stated that Jordanian authorities had evacuated the airport and seaport. Despite the categorical denials from Jordan, the US embassy has not withdrawn its advisory. As The Zioneer reported at 13:52 Jerusalem, the embassy reiterated its warning, noting the evacuation.
The contradiction between the US and Jordanian accounts remains unresolved. The Jordanian government maintains that no threat was identified, while the US embassy continues to cite a credible threat that prompted the evacuation. The source of the original threat assessment has not been publicly disclosed, and it is unclear whether the two sides are referring to the same incident.
5 developments
- StrongReport: Jordan evacuates Aqaba port and airport over US threat; Jordan denies
- ConfirmedAqaba port CEO denies evacuation, says operations normal, after US Embassy threat alert
- StrongLebanese military source tells Al Jazeera it did not document IDF withdrawal from Lebanese territory
- DevelopingUS evacuates embassy in Jordan
Source and signal
- Internal intake