Iran closes airspace to commercial planes for hrs

 

 

IRAN closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday as tensions remained high with the United States over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests. The closure ran for over four hours, according to pilot guidance issued by Iran, which lies on a key East-West flight route. International carriers diverted north and south around Iran, but after one extension, the closure appeared to have expired and several domestic flights were in the air just after 7 AM. Iran previously shut its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June and when it exchanged fire with Israel during the Israel-Hamas war.

 

However, there were no signs of current hostilities though the closure immediately rippled through global aviation because Iran is located on a key East-West route for airlines. “Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” said the website SafeAirspace, which provides information on conflict areas and air travel. “The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defense, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic.” Iran in the past has misidentified a commercial aircraft as a hostile target. In 2020, Iranian air defense shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people on board. Iran for days adamantly dismissed allegations of downing the plane as Western propaganda before finally acknowledging it. The airspace closure came as some personnel at a key US military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate.

 

The US Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” going to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country. The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on Iran at the request of the United States on Thursday afternoon. US President Donald Trump made a series of vague statements Wednesday that left unclear what American action, if any, would take place against Iran. In comments to reporters, Trump said he had been told that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, without providing many details. The shift comes a day after Trump told protesters in Iran that “help is on the way” and that his administration would “act accordingly” to respond to the Islamic Republic’s deadly crackdown. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also sought to tone down the rhetoric, urging the US to find a solution through negotiation.

 

Asked by Fox News what he would say to Trump, Araghchi said: “My message is: Between war and diplomacy, diplomacy is a better way, although we don’t have any positive experience from the United States. But still diplomacy is much better than war.” The change in tone by the US and Iran came hours after the chief of the Iranian judiciary said the government must act quickly to punish the thousands who have been detained. Activists warned that hangings of detainees could come soon. The security forces’ crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. Air India, IndiGo cancel some overseas flights as Iranian airspace closure impacts services: AIR INDIA and IndiGo on Thursday cancelled some of their overseas flights as the Iranian airspace closure impacted services. Flights of Air India to the US and Europe, and services of IndiGo to CIS countries, Europe, and Turkey have been impacted, according to officials. The two airlines, as well as SpiceJet, issued advisories saying that the airspace closure will impact some flights. Tata Group-owned Air India cancelled at least three flights to the US, and certain services to Europe will face some delays due to the Iranian airspace closure, an official said.

 

 

IRAN has mocked and threatened President Donald Trump by airing a provocative image of the American leader from his attempted assassination at a 2024 campaign rally in Pennsylvania, accompanied by the warning, “This time it will not miss the target.” Images of the ominous message, translated from Persian, quickly circulated online through multiple media reports and were also broadcast on Iranian state-run television, drawing sharp attention to the escalating war of words between Tehran and Washington. The broadcast came against the backdrop of Trump’s repeated warnings that the United States could take military action against Iran.