TEHRAN
Iran reopened its airspace after a closure of nearly five hours, imposed amid concerns over possible military action between the United States and Iran, which forced airlines to cancel, divert or delay several flights.
Iran closed its airspace to all flights, except authorised international arrivals and departures, at 5:15pm ET (2215 GMT) on Wednesday, according to a notice on the US Federal Aviation Administration website.
The notice was withdrawn shortly before 10pm ET (0300 GMT), flight-tracking service Flightradar24 said. 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.
Western military official told Reuters on Wednesday that “all the signals are that a US attack is imminent”.The official added: “[…] but that is also how this administration behaves to keep everyone on their toes. Unpredictability is part of the strategy.” Two European officials said US military intervention could come in the next 24 hours. An Israeli official also said it appeared Trump had decided to intervene, though the scope and timing remained unclear.
The United States was withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a US official said on Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official said Tehran had warned neighbours 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 said some of its international flights would be impacted by Iran’s sudden airspace closure.
