Jordanians try to sell downed Iranian rockets on the internet
‘Used Iranian ballistic missile in good condition’: Online ads in the kingdom — some of them satirical — offer ballistic missiles, or pieces of them, for sale
Gianluca Pacchiani is the Arab affairs reporter for The Times of Israel
Some Jordanians have been trying to sell remnants of rockets intercepted over their territory during Iran’s dramatic assault against Israel Saturday night, in which hundreds of deadly projectiles were fired from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
The ads were placed on the website “al-Sooq al-Maftouh” (“the open market”), a platform to buy and sell used items.
It appeared to be a partially satirical initiative by citizens of the Hashemite kingdom reeling from the shock of hundreds of projectiles carrying tons of explosives flying over their heads.
One of the ads read, “Used Iranian ballistic missile in good condition for sale.”
Another included a set of specifications and pictures of the rocket on sale, noting that it was an “excellent model” and that it had been involved in an “accident.”
The listed prices varied considerably, ranging from 50 Jordanian dinars ($70) for a piece of a rocket that fell outside Amman, to 120,000 dinars ($170,000) for a full missile.
By Tuesday morning, the ads appeared to have been taken off the website.
صاروخ مستعمل للبيع ..
شعب ما إله حل ???????????? pic.twitter.com/iK0adFG6fD— مصعب الحراسيس????Musab (@harasis2010) April 14, 2024
In the aftermath of the aerial attack, the Jordanian government was wary of discussing details of the stunning accomplishment of the Jordanian air force, which downed dozens of drones heading for Israel in the unprecedented assault from Iran.
In its official statements, Amman merely referred to “foreign objects” traversing the Jordanian airspace that were downed “to protect citizens and residential areas,” omitting the fact that they were intercepted by Jordanian jets as part of an unofficial defense pact that includes Israel, the US and other regional partners.
Reports indicated that debris of the missiles were found in the Al-Hasa and Kerak districts, near the Jordan Valley, as well as in the Marj Al-Hamam suburb of the capital Amman.
While some of the ads for “souvenirs” from the event may have been serious, many of them appeared to be ironic. Latching on to the trend, social media users also pretended to offer rockets to potential buyers. One X user wrote: “I have a used rockets for sale, with no explosive head and no explosive charge. Suitable to make keys.”
بمناسبة عودتي من السفر عندي صاروخ مستعمل للبيع بدون راس تفجيري و بدون حشوة متفجرة و يصلح لعمل كيز ???? pic.twitter.com/kaFC4XI02r
— Dr.Kameran (@Kameran_snjary) April 14, 2024
Residents in several cities in the northern part of Jordan near Syria and central and southern areas also reported hearing heavy aerial activity on Saturday night.
A widely circulated photo showed a missile that was extracted from the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea.
???? صاروخ باليستي إيراني تم إسقاطه في منطقة البحر الميت. pic.twitter.com/3Ua3xQZgWX
— الأحداث الأمريكية???????? (@NewsNow4USA) April 14, 2024
Iran launched its unprecedented direct assault on Israel, sending over 300 attack drones and missiles, in retaliation for an airstrike blamed on the Jewish state that killed several high-ranking Iranian officers in Damascus.
Most of the projectiles were intercepted before they reached Israel, with the help of the United States, Jordan, and other allies, and the sole injury was a Bedouin girl, who was struck and seriously wounded by falling shrapnel in the Negev desert. The IAF’s southern Nevatim base suffered minor damage to infrastructure, the IDF said, but continued to function during the attack.
On Monday, Israel’s war cabinet met to mull a response. Reports said Israel felt obligated to strike back in a way that would deter Iran, but without sparking a regional war or antagonizing Israel’s allies who have been calling for restraint.
