Iran suspends all flight services amid rising tensions
Flight services to all airports in Iran are suspended from Sunday evening until Monday morning, according to Iran’s Mehr News Agency.
Iran’s aviation authority announced the cancellation of flights at several airports on Sunday, citing “operational restrictions” as tensions rise following Israel’s vow to retaliate for an Iranian missile strike.
According to the state news agency IRNA, Jafar Yazarloo, spokesman for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, stated that flights at some airports will be canceled from 9:00 PM local time (17:30 GMT) on Sunday, October 6, until 6:00 AM on Monday, October 7.
Tensions rise in Middle East following Iran’s missile attack
Iran launched at least 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1, retaliating for the assassinations of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Haniyeh was killed in an attack in Tehran last July, while Nasrallah died in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month.
This escalation coincides with a series of massive Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, which have resulted in over 1,180 fatalities since September 23, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The aerial campaign marks a significant intensification in the yearlong conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, following a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip that has claimed more than 41,800 lives, predominantly women and children, since the Hamas attack last year.
Additionally, at least 2,036 people have been killed, over 9,600 injured, and 1.2 million displaced in Lebanon, according to local authorities.
The international community has expressed concerns that continued Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the conflict in Gaza into a broader regional war.
