Jordan Asks US to Deploy Patriot Air Defense Systems

Jordan asked the US to deploy Patriot air defense systems to bolster its border defense during heightened regional tensions. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Jordan asked the US to deploy Patriot air defense systems to bolster its border defense during heightened regional tensions. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Jordan Asks US to Deploy Patriot Air Defense Systems

Jordan asked the US to deploy Patriot air defense systems to bolster its border defense during heightened regional tensions. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Jordan asked the US to deploy Patriot air defense systems to bolster its border defense during heightened regional tensions. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Jordan asked the US to deploy Patriot air defense systems to bolster its border defense during heightened regional tensions and conflict, the spokesperson for the country's army said.

Jordan's army spokesperson Brigadier General Mustafa Hiyari told state television that the kingdom asked the US to help boost the defense system and provide more aid to tackle drones.

"The drones have become a threat on all our fronts," Hiyari said.

Earlier, a Jordanian military source denied reports that the US was using its Jordan bases to supply Tel Aviv with ammunition and transport some of the equipment from its depots to bolster Israel's defenses in its war in Gaza, as reported by the Arab News Agency.

The Jordanian News Agency quoted a source at the General Command of the Armed Forces dismissing allegations circulating on social media that the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) bases have been used by US aircraft to supply the Israeli army with equipment and ammunition.

The source asserted that spreading and circulating such "rumors" aim to undermine Jordan's position on the Palestinian cause and damage the reputation of the armed forces.

The source pointed out that the Armed Forces Field Hospital is still receiving casualties from Gaza despite all the challenges and difficulties.

He asserted that the Royal Jordanian Air Force remains committed to delivering humanitarian and relief aid to the Palestinians in Gaza.



Tunisia’s Kais Saied Wins Landslide Reelection

 Tunisian president and candidate for re-election Kais Saied joins his supporters after the announcement of the provisional results for the presidential elections, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP)
Tunisian president and candidate for re-election Kais Saied joins his supporters after the announcement of the provisional results for the presidential elections, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP)
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Tunisia’s Kais Saied Wins Landslide Reelection

 Tunisian president and candidate for re-election Kais Saied joins his supporters after the announcement of the provisional results for the presidential elections, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP)
Tunisian president and candidate for re-election Kais Saied joins his supporters after the announcement of the provisional results for the presidential elections, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP)

President Kais Saied won a landslide victory in Tunisia's election Monday, keeping his grip on power after a first term in which opponents were imprisoned and the country's institutions overhauled to give him more authority.

The North African country's Independent High Authority for Elections said Saied received 90.7% of the vote.

“We’re going to cleanse the country of all the corrupt and schemers,” the 66-year-old president said in a speech at campaign headquarters. He pledged to defend Tunisia against threats foreign and domestic.

The closest challenger, businessman Ayachi Zammel, won 7.4% of the vote after sitting in prison for the majority of the campaign while facing multiple sentences for election-related crimes.

Saied's win was marred by low voter turnout. Election officials reported 28.8% of voters participated on Oct. 6 — a significantly smaller showing than in the first round of the country's two other post-Arab Spring elections and an indication of apathy plaguing the country's 9.7 million eligible voters.

Saied’s most prominent challengers — imprisoned since last year — were prevented from running, and lesser-known candidates were jailed or kept off the ballot. Opposition parties boycotted the contest, calling it a sham.

Saied won his first term in 2019 promising to combat corruption. In 2021 he declared a state of emergency, suspended parliament and rewrote the constitution to consolidate the power of the presidency — a series of actions his critics likened to a coup.

Tunisians in a referendum approved the president's proposed constitution a year later, although voter turnout plummeted.