Iran temporarily closes airspace following Donald Trump’s threat

International Desk: PNN

Following threats by US President Donald Trump, Iran temporarily closed its airspace to commercial flights on Thursday. According to a notice issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), most flights were prohibited from using Iranian airspace from 1:45am to 4:00am and again from 4:44am to 7:00am local time.

The notice said that no commercial flights were allowed to enter Iranian airspace without prior approval from Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO). According to data from the FlightRadar website, only three aircraft were present in Iranian airspace until 6:05am, while many others were flying around the borders. The airspace was reopened around 7:00am local time.

This restriction came at a time when President Trump had threatened military action against Iran. Earlier on Wednesday, the United States and the United Kingdom withdrew some military personnel from the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. This move followed warnings from senior Iranian officials, who said that US forces in the Middle East would be targeted if Trump ordered an attack.

At the same time, several countries issued advisories for their citizens due to fears of escalating tensions.

Neither Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization nor the US FAA has commented on the matter so far.

Experts believe the airspace closure may signal “potential future security or military activities” and could increase the risk of commercial aircraft being misidentified during missile operations or heightened defense measures. It is worth recalling that in 2020, Iran’s air defense mistakenly shot down a Ukraine International Airlines flight, killing all 176 passengers and crew on board.

A 2021 report by Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization stated that the missile battery operator had confused the Ukrainian aircraft with a “hostile plane” and that the risks to commercial aviation had not been properly assessed.