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Iran cancels flights till Monday morning
A spokesman of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization has confirmed to state-run IRNA news agency that flights in “some” of the country’s airports will be halted from 9pm to 5am (17:30 to 01:30 GMT).
The spokesman only cited “operational limitations” without elaborating further.
Meanwhile, Tehran’s Tohid and Resalat tunnels, two major arteries of the capital, will be shut from midnight to 5am (20:30 to 01:30 GMT).
This comes as Israel continues to promise an attack on Iran in response to its launching of ballistic missiles on Israeli military bases, which came in retaliation to the killing of top Iranian, Lebanese and Palestinian officials close to Tehran.
Earlier today, Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad visited the country’s largest oil facilities at Kharg and met the top military commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the area to discuss the security of the site. He had earlier visited Asaluyeh in the south.
Iran’s cancellation of flights ‘critically important, should be monitored closely’
Tohid Asadi, a Tehran-based writer and specialist in Iranian affairs, says it was not immediately clear why aviation authorities had decided to cancel flights until Monday morning.
“We do not know much – whether it’s going to be sort of an offensive or defensive action, or simply a measure of precaution,” he told Al Jazeera, adding that this remained to be seen.
Asadi noted, however, that the announcement came amid heightened tensions, citing Israeli PM Netanyahu’s statements threatening Iran in the wake of the missile attack and Tehran’s “very strong messages” that an Israeli attack would be met with a “crushing” response.
“We will have to wait and see, but under these surging tensions, this is a critically important event that should be monitored very closely,” Asadi said.
They know Netanyahu likes to put on a show to appease his right wing cabinet. It seems likely he'll want to something big for Oct 7 tomorrow.
US, Israel defence chiefs to meet on October 9
The Pentagon said in a statement that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will host Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant “to discuss ongoing Middle East security developments”.
The announcement comes as Israel vowed to retaliate for Iran’s missile attack last week, where 180 ballistic missiles were launched in response to the killing of Iran’s allies, including Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.
That suggests attack on Iran is not imminent yet.
Iran’s attack on Israel was to ‘contain its barbarism’: President Pezeshkian
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeskhian has told Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof that Tehran refrained from immediately responding to the assassination of Hamas chief Ismael Haniyeh in hopes that efforts to reach a ceasefire for the Gaza war would yield results.
“The missile attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the Zionist regime was exactly meant to contain the regime’s barbarism, prevent its efforts to expand crimes and attacks in the region, and to achieve ceasefire, peace and calm, based on the UN Charter and while adhering to international legal frameworks, and only against military targets,” Pezeshkhian told Schoof in a phone call.
Iran’s Quds Force chief ‘out of contact’ since last week’s Beirut strikes
Iran’s Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani, who travelled to Lebanon after the killing last month of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, has not been heard from since strikes on Beirut late last week, two senior Iranian security officials told Reuters news agency.
One of the officials said Qaani was in Beirut’s Dahiyeh southern suburbs during a strike on Thursday that was reported to have targeted senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine but the official said he was not meeting Safieddine.
The official said Iran and Hezbollah had not been able to contact Qaani since then. The Quds Force, the overseas arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, oversees dealings with armed groups allied with Tehran across the Middle East, including Hezbollah.
