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ISW reads Iran's thanks as cover

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16:40UTC

ISW assessed that the IRGC's public thanks to 'the Jordanian people' for targeting intelligence is a cover story, meant to counter reporting that Russia and China are helping Iran aim at Americans.

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ConflictAssessed

Key takeaway

ISW calls Iran's thanks to Jordanians a cover story, and Amman has neither confirmed nor denied it.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and its Critical Threats Project assessed on Monday 20 July that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued its public thanks to "the Jordanian people" as a likely cover narrative ¹. The thanks, for intelligence said to have aided Iranian strikes on Jordan, accompanied the IRGC's claim of a 21st-wave strike on the Azraq area and Aqaba Airport . ISW reads it as an attempt to counter reporting that Russia and China are helping Iran target American assets in the region.

Amman has answered none of it. Jordan's government has neither confirmed nor denied the claim, and it comes after a week in which Jordanian officials said no threats existed at Aqaba hours before Iranian missiles landed in the area .

The only public pushback came from an academic. Ronen Yitzhak of the Moshe Dayan Center told The Jerusalem Post that the Islamic Republic has no real support base in Jordan ².

ISW's reading is an assessment rather than evidence, and it comes from an institution with a declared view of Iranian information operations. The same report cites senior Iranian officials privately worried that the renewed conflict is deepening Iran's economic crisis and threatening internal security ³. ISW does not name those officials, and nothing outside the report corroborates them.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is a Washington think tank that tracks the conflict closely and publishes near-daily assessments. Its Critical Threats Project focuses specifically on Iran. When ISW says it "assesses" something, that means it is offering an informed judgement based on its own analysis and sourcing, not reporting a confirmed fact. Here, Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) publicly thanked "the Jordanian people" for intelligence that helped its recent strikes. ISW thinks this may be a cover story, a way to deflect attention from separate claims that Russia and China are quietly helping Iran target American assets. Jordan has said neither yes nor no. None of this is confirmed; it is one think tank's reading of why Iran chose those specific words.

Deep Analysis

Root Causes

ISW and its Critical Threats Project assessed, in a 20 July Iran Update Evening Special Report, that the IRGC's public thanks to "the Jordanian people" for intelligence is likely intended to counter separate reporting that Russia and China are helping Iran target US assets in the region. This is ISW's interpretation of why the IRGC chose that specific phrasing, not a confirmed fact about Russian or Chinese involvement. Amman has neither confirmed nor denied the IRGC's underlying claim.

ISW's report also cites unnamed senior Iranian officials as privately concerned the renewed conflict is deepening Iran's economic crisis and threatening internal security. ISW does not name these officials, and nothing outside its own report corroborates them; the claim should be read as ISW's sourcing, not as independently established fact.

Sources:Institute for the Study of War·Jerusalem Post

Mentions:Institute for the Study of War →Critical Threats →Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) →Jordan →Russia →China →Iran →Aqaba →Jerusalem Post →Washington →Tehran →Aqaba Airport →Amman →Iranian Revolution →Azraq airbase →

First Reported In

Update #159 · A second strait closes by radio alone

Institute for the Study of War· 22 Jul 2026

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Causes and effects

Caused by

Amman denied a threat, then it landed

Jordan's prior denial of any Aqaba threat before missiles hit frames its silence on the IRGC's public thanks.

Occurred 19 Jul 2026

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IRGC thanks Jordanians for helping it aim

The IRGC's claimed Nasr-2 strike on Aqaba on 20 July is the action the disputed Jordanian-intelligence claim is meant to explain.

Occurred 19 Jul 2026

Read story →

This Event

ISW reads Iran's thanks as cover

A public thank-you to a neighbour's population costs Tehran nothing to issue and puts Amman in a position it cannot comfortably answer.

Different Perspectives

China's foreign ministry

Spokesman Lin Jian rejected Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's 25 August warning that Iranian oil buyers face an "economic D-Day", saying sanctions do not help and that Beijing would safeguard its own rights and interests. China's Iranian crude imports had already halved for unrelated reasons.

Iraq's government and Erbil authorities

Erbil authorities said 10 explosive-laden drones were shot down over the city on 1-2 September with no casualties. Iraq's government condemned the attacks without naming Iran as their source, and neither Washington nor Baghdad confirmed the IRGC's claim to have hit US bases there.

Bahrain Defence Force

The General Command said air defences intercepted several Iranian missiles and drones on 1-2 September and called the use of such weapons against civilians and private property a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.

Kuwait's Fire Force and foreign ministry

KUNA reported a hostile Iranian drone struck a residential complex in Kuwait City on 2 September; Fire Force spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Al-Gharib said losses were confined to property. Kuwait's foreign ministry called the attack a clear breach of its sovereignty.

Jordan's Armed Forces

Petra carried a statement that air defences intercepted eight missiles violating Jordanian airspace early on 31 August and 10 of 13 fired on 1 September. The statement named no target and did not address the IRGC's claim to have struck Camp Titin and killed US personnel.

CENTCOM

CENTCOM's 1 September target list named IRGC air defence, radar, maritime and mine-laying sites in Iran but no tanker, after Axios reported anonymous officials describing a Trump-approved "tanker for tanker" drone policy. A CENTCOM spokesman declined to confirm the policy and referred questions to policymakers.