At a large square near the US embassy in west Amman, a damaged drone, visibly on fire, stutters overhead before crashing in the city's empty outskirts.
Warning sirens that had blazed three times in succession are replaced with a minute-long beep, indicating that danger has passed. “It seems that its guidance system was hit, but the engine kept going,” said an ex-army member, who works as a private guard at one of the affluent villas in the area.
The embassy declared this week that it is a target and shut down, without giving details. Many of the Western diplomats living in the area have left, residents say. Across the street, a mobile phone shop had two customers after iftar, but shisha places were full of young people. One of the few restaurants that serves food before Iftar was full during the day.
Ramadan is a traditionally slow month, and the tempo in placid Amman, with some exceptions, appears to have remained normal. However, unlike the last aerial war between Iran and Israel, the government says Jordan is being directly hit with Iranian missiles and drones, without specifying the targets. Iran has also been firing missiles and drones at Gulf states since the war started a week ago.
Ramez Al Hatoum, a mechanic in Marka, an eastern district near a military airport, says his and other businesses have not been affected. "We have seen this before. It is so boring," he says. "People have no time for this. They want to keep working and earning a living."
In the Bayader area on the western outskirts of the city, an owner of an auto-parts shop said people were coming to buy parts for essential repairs but appeared "to have postponed the non-essentials".
At a nearby hypermarket, the grocery section was full of customers on one afternoon earlier this week, while home goods and clothing had far fewer shoppers. "Our food business has not been affected," said one manager.
The war marks the first time that Jordan has subjected to significant attacks since the 1967 war with Israel. In 1994 the two countries signed a peace treaty. In 2024, Jordan and the US, as well as other allies, intercepted most of the Iranian missiles and drones that passed over the kingdom on route to Israel.
On Wednesday, the government said that the Iranian drones and missiles fired at the kingdom have all been "repulsed" and that security forces had dealt with scores of incidents involving falling shrapnel and other objects. There have been no known fatalities, so far, similar to the last two wars.
The kingdom has been a bastion of stability in a turbulent Middle East since the 1970 internal conflict. Thousands of US forces are based in the kingdom under a 2021 defence pact, and US aid is crucial for sustaining the economy, which has been stagnant for the last 15 years.
Public schools and other services have remained open, while some private schools have gone into online learning. On Thursday, the American School, situated near the Eighth Circle in west Amman, reopened after being closed for several days. “I dropped off my daughter back [..], but her American classmates have left," said a Jordanian mother.
A father of a seven-year-old at another private school said he was dropping his daughter off regularly for swimming lessons at the Orthodox Club, but that he has changed his route to avoid the American embassy.
The head of a major law firm, situated at the top of a ten-story office tower within a mile of the embassy, said he and his staff are showing up regularly to work. As far as daily life, he said the war "has not been a factor".
