Jordan asked US to deploy Patriot air defence missiles

Jordan, a close US ally, asked Washington to deploy Patriot air defence systems to bolster Amman's border defence, a spokesperson for the country's military said on Sunday.

"We asked the American side to help bolster our defence system with Patriot air defence missile systems," Brigadier General Mustafa Hiyari, Jordan's army spokesperson, told state television.

Jordan has become increasingly nervous that Israel's relentless bombing campaign in Gaza, coupled with a ground invasion, could cause conflict to spread into the wider region.

The US has already sent two aircraft carrier strike groups and fighter jets to the Middle East and added thousands to the number of troops in the region.

Jordan receives about $1.6bn per year in aid from the US. The US ally is also increasingly facing pressure from its people to move against Israel.

Thousands of protesters rallied in Amman and throughout the country in the past few weeks, including in front of the US embassy and Israel's evacuated embassy, denouncing both US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.