US issues emergency restriction for Iraq, Iran, Persian Gulf airspace after missile attacks
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that it had notified the U.S. based air carriers to suspend their operations in airspace over Iran, Iraq, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Taking on to Twitter, the agency said, “The FAA will continue closely monitoring events in the Middle East. We continue coordinating with our national security partners and sharing information with U.S. air carriers and foreign civil aviation authorities.” The announcement came after Tehran fired ballistic missiles from Iranian territory against at least two Iraqi military bases hosting US-led coalition personnel, according to the US Department of Defence.
Tensions between Tehran and the US escalated after the killing of Soleimani, commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards, in a US drone strike, which was ordered by President Donald Trump, on Friday when he was leaving the Baghdad International Airport. The strike also killed the deputy chief of Iraq's powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force.
In a notification issued Tuesday night, the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) prohibited American civil aviation operators from operating in the airspace over Iraq, Iran, the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
FAA said that it has issued notices to airmen outlining flight restrictions that prohibits US civil aviation operators from flying in that airspace.
The aviation authority said it will continue to closely monitor events in the Middle East and that it is coordinating with its national security partners.
Earlier, President Donald Trump said that the US was prepared for any attack by Iran and justified his decision to kill Soleimani, saying, "Well, number one, I knew the past. His past was horrible."
Soleimani's killing was the most dramatic escalation yet in spiralling tensions between Iran and the US, already hit by serious differences over Tehran's ambitious nuclear programme.
Soleimani was widely seen as the second most powerful figure in Iran behind the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His Quds Force, an elite unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, reported directly to the Ayatollah Khamenei and he was hailed as a heroic national figure.
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