Dubai. Iran issued an order Thursday to close its airspace to commercial aircraft as tensions with the United States escalated in the wake of nationwide violent protests. A notice issued to pilots said the airspace was expected to remain closed until 7:30 a.m. local time. In an earlier order, the airspace was closed for a little more than two hours.
The Iranian government did not provide any explanation for its decision to close its airspace. Iranian officials indicated on Wednesday that suspects detained in nationwide protests could face speedy trials and executions.
At the same time, the Islamic Republic has pledged to retaliate if the US or Israel intervene in the domestic unrest. These threats have come at a time when some personnel stationed at an important US military base in Qatar were advised to leave.
At the same time, US President Donald Trump has given many such statements within 24 hours due to which it is not clear what action, if any, the US will take against Iran. The Islamic republic closed its airspace to commercial flights for several hours early Thursday morning without permission, a notice sent to pilots said. No explanation was given for this.
Talking to reporters, the US President said that he has been told that the plan to carry out death penalty in Iran has been stopped, although he did not give much information about it. The change in Trump’s stance comes a day after Trump told protesters that “help is on the way” and that his administration will “take appropriate action” in response to the Islamic Republic’s deadly crackdown.
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