Iran airspace appears to reopen after temporary closure amid ongoing protests
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Iran appeared to have reopened its airspace on Thursday after a sudden overnight closure disrupted flights across the region, as airlines largely continue to avoid the country due to heightened security warnings and ongoing regional tensions.
The overnight closure lasted approximately five hours following the Air Tasks Notification, or NOTAM. It was publishedAccording to aviation risk monitoring site Safe Airspace.
Safe Airspace warns that the main danger to civilian aircraft in Iranian airspace is misidentification by air defense systems during escalating tensions, currently rating the overall risk level as “One – Do Not Fly.”
TRUMP SAID THE USA WILL TAKE ‘VERY STRONG ACTION’ AGAINST IRAN IF THE REGIME STARTS HANGING PROTESTERS
This January 15, 2026 screenshot from FlightRadar24 shows empty airspace over Iran, at a time when tensions between the United States and Iran are rising and concerns about possible military action are rising. (FlightRadar24.com/Handout, via REUTERS)
President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that he had been informed that the killing of protesters in Iran “has stopped.”
“We have been very strongly informed, but we will find out what this all means. But we have been told that the killings in Iran have stopped,” he said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., disagreed with Trump and wrote that every indication he saw in X showed that the Iranian regime’s killing of anti-government protesters was “still in full swing.”
“The death toll rises with each passing hour. We hope help is on the way,” he wrote.
TRUMP AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH IRANIAN PRINCE WHILE THE REGIME FACES PROTESTS
Iranians participate in an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, on January 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which parts Protests across the country have continued for an eighteenth day as authorities have almost completely shut down the internet, officials who published a report on human rights violations in Iran said on Wednesday.
The group’s aggregate figures showed 617 protest meetings in 187 cities across the country, with at least 18,470 arrests and 2,615 confirmed deaths.
HRANA said that 2,435 of those who died were protesters, 13 of whom were under the age of 18.
SENIOR IRANIAN OFFICIAL BELIEVES THE DEATH NUMBERS, USA BLAMES ‘ISRAELI CONSPIRACY’ WHILE EVALUATING THE STRIKES
Cars burn on the street during a protest over the devaluation of the currency in Tehran, Iran, January 8, 2026. (Stringer/West Asia News Agency, via REUTERS)
Trump has threatened to take action against the regime and warned Tehran to stop killing its people in multiple Truth Social posts.
“We’re locked, loaded and ready to go,” he wrote on New Year’s Day.
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The president said Tuesday he was canceling all meetings with Iranian officials and told protesters, “STATE YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!” he called.
“Keep the names of the murderers and abusers. They will pay a high price,” Trump wrote, adding, “HELP IS ON THE WAY.”
