Iran closes its airspace to commercial aircraft for hours as tensions with US remain high

The closure lasted more than four hours, according to pilot guidance issued by Iran, which is on a key East-West flight route. International carriers headed north and south around Iran, but after an extension the closure appeared to expire and many domestic flights were in the air just after 7 a.m.

Iran previously closed 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, although the closure immediately spread to global aviation due to Iran being located on a key East-West route for airlines.

“Many airlines have already reduced or suspended their services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” said the SafeAirspace website, which provides information on conflict zones and air travel. “This could signal further security or military activity that increases the risk of misidentification of civilian traffic, including the risk of missile launches or increased air defenses.”

Iran has mistakenly identified a commercial aircraft as an enemy target in the past. In 2020, Iranian air defenses shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people on board. Iran stubbornly rejected the claims of downing the plane as Western propaganda for days and eventually accepted it.

The airspace closure followed a recommendation to evacuate some personnel at a key US military base in Qatar. The US Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its staff to “temporarily halt” travel to several military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.

The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on Iran on Thursday afternoon at the request of the United States.

US President Donald Trump made a series of vague statements on Wednesday, leaving it unclear what action, if any, America would take against Iran.

In comments to reporters, Trump said he had been told execution plans in Iran had been halted but did not provide many details. The change came a day after Trump said “help is on the way” to protesters in Iran and that his administration would “act accordingly” to respond to the Islamic Republic’s deadly crackdown.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also tried to soften the rhetoric, calling on the United States to find a solution through negotiations.

Asked by Fox News what he would say to Trump, Araghchi said: “My message is this: Between war and diplomacy, diplomacy is the better way, even though we don’t have a positive experience from the United States. But still, diplomacy is much better than war.”

The change in stance by the United States and Iran came hours after Iran’s judiciary chief said the government must act quickly to punish thousands of people detained.

Activists have warned that executions of detainees could come soon. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported that at least 2,615 people died in the security forces’ crackdown on the demonstrations. The death toll exceeds that of any other protests or unrest in Iran in decades and is reminiscent of the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.