Berlin/Dubai, April 10 – Due to the tense situation in the Middle East—where Iran is perhaps retaliating for an alleged Israeli airstrike on its embassy in Syria—German airline Lufthansa said on Wednesday that it had halted flights to Tehran.
When an Arabic-language story on social networking site X claimed that all airspace over Tehran had been restricted for military exercises, it momentarily heightened tensions. The news agency from Iran did this. After then, the agency took down the report and refuted that it had published the news.
Since April 1, nations in the area, as well as the United States, have been on high alert and making preparations for a potential Iranian attack, following suspicions of Israeli airplanes striking the Iranian embassy compound in Syria.
According to Lufthansa, flights to and from Tehran will be suspended from April 6 until perhaps April 11.
“We are constantly monitoring the situation in the Middle East and are in close contact with the authorities. The safety of our guests and crew members is Lufthansa’s top priority,” a spokesperson for the company told Reuters.
Turkish and Middle Eastern airlines operate the majority of international flights into Tehran. However, Lufthansa and its affiliate Austrian Airlines are exceptions.
According to its website and FlightRadar24, Austrian Airlines, a Lufthansa subsidiary, operates a direct Vienna-Tehran service six times a week. It was still scheduled to operate its flight into Tehran on Thursday.
Other foreign airlines that operate to Tehran did not immediately respond.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, declared that Israel “must be punished and it shall be” for the Damascus strike. This attack claimed the lives of seven members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Among them was senior commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi of the Revolutionary Guards’ top foreign arm, the Quds Force.
Although the Pentagon has stated that Israel was responsible for the attack on Damascus, Israel has not acknowledged this. Israel, which began a war in the Gaza Strip six months ago against Hamas, backed by Iran, remains silent on the matter.
COULD STRIKES BE IMMINENT?
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz declared that if Iran strikes Israel from its own territory, Israel will retaliate. This statement appears to be a direct response to Khamenei’s remarks.
On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported, citing U.S. and Israeli security sources, that the United States and its allies fear Iran or its proxies are poised to launch significant missile or drone strikes against military and government targets in Israel.
During a phone conversation with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made it plain that the US would support Israel in the face of any threats from Iran, according to the State Department.
A person familiar with the situation revealed that U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk actively reached out to the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Iraq. He requested them to convey a message to Iran, urging it to reduce tensions.
According to Iran’s foreign ministry, the foreign ministers of those nations discussed regional issues over the phone with Iran’s foreign minister. The White House opted not to respond.
On January 8, 2020, just after the plane took off from Tehran Airport, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards shot down a passenger flight operated by Ukraine International Airlines. During a period of heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington, the incident occurred. It followed the death of a key Iranian commander in an American drone strike at Baghdad airport.
Tehran subsequently claimed that the downing of the Ukrainian plane was the result of a “disastrous mistake” by highly alerted soldiers.
On January 3, Iranian forces fired missiles at military locations housing American troops in Iraq. This action was seen as payback for the death of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of an elite Guards unit stationed abroad.
Iran provides support to organizations that have joined the conflict in the region following Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
The health ministry in Gaza reports that over 33,000 Palestinians have lost their lives as a result of Israel’s six-month shelling of the area. 1,200 people were murdered in Hamas’ Oct. 7 onslaught on Israel, according to Israeli estimates.
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