33 nations join Jordan’s ‘Eager Lion’ war games
AMMAN: The Jordanian military announced on Sunday the launch of the “Eager Lion” military exercise, with ground, naval and air forces from 33 countries participating, including the United States, France and Britain.
The drills, set to end on May 23, include antiterrorism and air defence training, army spokesman Colonel Mustafa Al Hiyari told a news conference.
He said that “Eager Lion” is intended to help fight “terrorist organisations,” and respond to “the proliferation of drones, and biological, chemical and nuclear weapons of mass destruction” as well as major disasters.
Forces from “10 Arab and 22 foreign countries in addition to Jordan” are taking part, Hiyari said, aiming “to confront the emerging and cross-border threats of this era.”
The exercise, “the largest” since the first “Eager Lion” edition in 2011 according to Hiyari, comes at a time of soaring regional tensions as the Israel-hamas war rages in the Gaza Strip.
But the spokesman said that “these drills have nothing to do with regional developments.”
He did not specify the number of troops participating.
Some of the countries participating include Poland, Norway, Romania, Japan and Australia alongside several Arab states such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Morocco and Lebanon.
The previous “Eager Lion” exercise in September 2022 included some 2,200 Jordanian soldiers, 1,700 from the United States and a total of 400 more from 27 other countries.
Jordan in 1994 signed a peace treaty with neighbouring Israel, and is a key regional ally for Washington, which has forces in the Middle East as part of an international anti-militant coalition.
In February, Jordan’s King Abdullah participated in an airdrop of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
A video released by state-owned Al Mamlaka showed Abdullah in military gear on board a plane in the latest mission by the Jordanian air force to drop urgent medical supplies to field hospitals it runs in the enclave.
Jordan has conducted 11 airdrops, with at least two conducted with the French and Dutch air forces, to deliver medical aid.
Princess Salma, Abdullah’s second daughter and an air force pilot, participated in an airdrop in December.
US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken during a visit to Amman last month commended Jordan’s “role and leadership in providing life-saving aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”
Jordan succeeded in getting Israel to allow the World Food Programme (WFP) to send deliveries to Gaza through another land route that begins from Jordan, helping ease pressure on the main Rafah border crossing.