Connect with us

Regional

Iran reopens airspace after temporary closure forced flights to reroute

At a similar time last week to the airspace closure there had been dozens of planes in the air over Iran, Flightradar24 said.

Published

on

Iran reopened its airspace after a near-five-hour closure amid concerns about possible military action between the U.S. and Iran that forced airlines to cancel, reroute or delay some flights.

Iran closed its airspace to all flights except international ones to and from Iran with official permission at 5:15 p.m. ET (2215 GMT) on Wednesday, according to a notice on the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration website.

The notice was removed shortly before 10 p.m. ET, or 0300 GMT, according to tracking service Flightradar24, which showed five flights from Iranian carriers Mahan Air, Yazd Airways and AVA Airlines were among the first to resume over the country.

At a similar time last week to the airspace closure there had been dozens of planes in the air over Iran, Flightradar24 said.

The temporary closure came as President Donald Trump has been weighing a response to the situation in Iran, which is seeing its biggest anti-government protests in years.

The United States was withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official said Tehran had warned neighbors it would hit American bases if Washington strikes.

Missile and drone barrages in a growing number of conflict zones represent a high risk to airline traffic.

India’s largest airline, IndiGo (INGL.NS), said some of its international flights would be impacted by Iran’s sudden airspace closure. Air India said its flights were using alternative routes that could result in delays or cancellations.

A flight by Russia’s Aeroflot (AFLT.MM), bound for Tehran returned to Moscow after the closure, according to Flightradar24 data.

Earlier on Wednesday, Germany issued a new directive cautioning the country’s airlines from entering Iranian airspace, shortly after Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), rejigged its flight operations across the Middle East amid escalating tensions in the region.

The United States already prohibits all U.S. commercial flights from overflying Iran and there are no direct flights between the countries.

Airline operators like flydubai and Turkish Airlines have canceled multiple flights to Iran in the past week.

“Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” said Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organisation that shares flight risk information. “The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defence, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic.”

A Ukraine International Airlines jet was downed by Iran’s military in 2020, killing all 176 passengers and crew.

Lufthansa said on Wednesday that it would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace until further notice while it would only operate day flights to Tel Aviv and Amman from Wednesday until Monday next week so that crew would not have to stay overnight. Some flights could also be canceled as a result of these actions, it added in a statement.

Italian carrier ITA Airways, in which Lufthansa Group is now a major shareholder, said that it would similarly suspend night flights to Tel Aviv until Tuesday next week.

Regional

Iran says outcome of Israeli elections ‘makes no difference’

Tuesday’s legislative elections will take place amid mounting threats by Israel and the United States to renew attacks on Iran after they launched their war in late February.

Published

on

Iran’s foreign ministry said Monday that the outcome of the Israeli elections in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a tight race will make “no difference”, AFP reported.

“It makes no difference to us who, in these elections, takes the helm of a regime that has brought nothing but violence and massacres to our region,” said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.

Tuesday’s legislative elections will take place amid mounting threats by Israel and the United States to renew attacks on Iran after they launched their war in late February.

Netanyahu has in recent days repeatedly said the only way to remove the threat posed by Iran is to topple its government.

On Sunday, he told Israel’s Channel 14 that he had “instructed the Mossad and the IDF to overthrow the Iranian regime”.

Baqaei dismissed Netanyahu’s remarks as “empty threats” and a “sign of desperation”.

Continue Reading

Regional

Officials from Mecca pact countries to meet Iranian officials in Tehran

Pakistan’s military media wing and Turkey’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Published

on

Top officials from Mecca Pact countries ​Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are to meet Iran’s leaders in Tehran on Monday in their first high-level contact since the kingdom became a pressure point in ‌the wider Iran conflict, Reuters reported.

Saudi Arabia will be represented by Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Turkey by intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Saudi and Iranian officials said.

Attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have spiralled in recent weeks and rhetoric between Washington and Tehran has grown more heated. Both countries have also drawn up plans to restart the wider war, possibly after the US midterm elections on November ​3.

Monday’s planned talks will be the first high-level contact between Iran and all members of the three-nation bloc since Saudi Arabia was drawn deeper into the conflict. Under the Mecca ​Joint Defence Agreement signed in August, an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei ⁠said on Monday discussions on regional security would include “Israel’s expansionist policies, developments in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, and the repercussions of US and Israeli military action against Iran.”

Baghaei said the meeting, ​proposed during a visit by Munir to Tehran last week, could be a first step towards establishing regional security mechanisms based on the interests of countries in the region.

Qatari mediators met Iranian officials ​in Tehran on Sunday in a push to de-escalate regional tensions, Reuters reported. Qatar has, for months, played a mediating role between Tehran and Washington.

A senior Iranian official said the meeting was initiated by Pakistan, during Munir’s visit to Tehran, as he met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials. During the visit, Iranian officials told him there would be no talks with Washington until Tehran’s demands were met, according to Iranian media.

Earlier ​mediation efforts involving both Pakistan and Qatar helped produce an interim peace agreement in June, but the deal quickly unravelled as fighting between Iran and the United States resumed weeks later.

The ​deputy secretary of Iran’s top security body, Ali Baqeri-Kani, told state TV that Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid, Pakistan’s Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin would visit Tehran for consultations with Iran’s Supreme National Security ‌Council on ⁠regional security.

Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Krimly said the meeting is part of ongoing efforts by the Mecca Pact countries to de-escalate the current crisis, promote diplomatic solutions, and support mediation efforts led by Qatar and Pakistan.”The visit also underscores the pivotal role of the Mecca Pact states in fostering regional security and stability, and their commitment to working with all nations in the region toward achieving this goal,” Krimly posted on X.

Pakistan’s military media wing and Turkey’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Saudi Arabia intercepted another wave of missiles and ​drones on Sunday as fighting with the Houthis ​continued unabated.

Ministers from the Mecca Pact countries ⁠held an emergency meeting in Riyadh earlier this month and agreed to ensure the “rapid deployment” of military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia.

The Houthi attacks have become an increasingly destabilising element in the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, turning US ally Saudi Arabia into a pressure point in the wider ​war.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have sharpened in recent days. President Donald Trump said on Friday the US may carry out another ​military operation against Iran and ⁠Iran’s leaders have said that a renewed US military campaign would be met with a stronger response than before.

Iranian security officials have told Reuters that Tehran has drawn up detailed plans to hit Gulf undersea cables if the United States and Israel attack again. A US intelligence memo this week warned that Iranian plots against American personnel had reached “advanced stages”.

The war, now nearly eight months old, has weighed ⁠on President Donald ​Trump’s approval ratings ahead of the midterms.

The Mecca agreement’s first article says the parties shall use “all necessary means” to ​eliminate threats to one another’s territorial integrity, sovereignty or internationally recognised borders, according to a text seen by Reuters.

Efforts by Turkey’s parliament to ratify the agreement began last week and are still underway, while Pakistan approved the pact last ​week.

Continue Reading

Regional

Iran tells Pakistan army chief no talks with Washington until demands are met

The demands include ending a US ​blockade on its ports, the lifting of sanctions on its oil exports ​as well as ending hostilities on all regional fronts.

Published

on

Iran told Pakistan’s army chief on Tuesday that there would be no talks with Washington until Tehran’s ​demands were met, Iranian media reported, underscoring its hardening stance despite ‌mediation efforts by key interlocutor Pakistan.

President Masoud Pezeshkian discussed mediation efforts and regional developments with Field Marshal Asim Munir in Tehran, according to Nournews.

Pakistan is a key intermediary between ​the United States and Iran. Earlier mediation efforts helped produce an interim ​peace agreement in June, but the Islamabad Memorandum quickly unravelled ⁠as fighting between Iran and the US resumed weeks after.

Munir also met ​Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who said Washington could not regain Tehran’s ​trust until it fulfilled seven conditions Iran set last month for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, according to an Iranian readout of the meeting.

The demands include ending a US ​blockade on its ports, the lifting of sanctions on its oil exports ​as well as ending hostilities on all regional fronts.

Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, ‌delivered a similar ⁠message during a separate meeting with Munir, saying there would be no talks with Washington until Tehran’s demands were met, according to Iranian media.

Rezaei also said all enriched nuclear materials would remain in Iran, reiterating Supreme Leader ​Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s position ​that near-weapons-grade uranium ⁠should not be shipped abroad.

US Vice President JD Vance said earlier this month that Iran must make a “meaningful” reduction ​in its uranium enrichment capacity to satisfy US demands and ​end ⁠the countries’ eight-month-old war.

Israel, the United States and other Western states have long accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, including pointing to its move to ⁠enrich uranium ​to 60%, far higher than needed for ​civilian uses and closer to the 90% needed for a weapon.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending

Copyright © 2026 Ariana News. All rights reserved!