January 15, 2026 | 11:27 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Iran temporarily closed its airspace to all flights except international flights to and from Iran with official permission on Wednesday at 10:15 p.m. local time, according to a notice posted on the Federal Aviation Administration website, as reported by CNA.
The notice to aviation missions stated that Tehran's airspace would remain closed until January 15, allowing only international civil flights to operate with the approval of the Civil Aviation Authority.
As reported by Anadolu Agency, the restrictions apply to flights entering or leaving Iran, while all other air traffic is suspended, the notice said.
The move comes amid rising regional and domestic tensions, including anti-government protests in Iran and heightened international scrutiny.
The United States is withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a US official said Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official said Tehran had warned its neighbors it would attack American bases if Washington attacked.
Missile and drone attacks in several conflict zones are increasingly posing a high risk to air traffic.
India's largest airline, IndiGo, said some of its international flights would be affected by the sudden closure of Iranian airspace. A Russian Aeroflot flight bound for Tehran returned to Moscow after the closure, according to tracking data from Flightradar24.
Earlier on Wednesday, Germany issued a new directive warning the country's airlines not to enter Iranian airspace, shortly after Lufthansa changed its flight operations across the Middle East amid rising tensions in the region.
The United States has banned all US commercial flights from Iran, and there are no direct flights between the two countries.
Airlines such as flydubai and Turkish Airlines have canceled several flights to Iran in the past week.
"Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace," said Safe Airspace, a website managed by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organization that shares aviation risk information.
"The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defence, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic."
Lufthansa stated Wednesday that it would avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace until further notice. The company will also operate only daytime flights to Tel Aviv and Amman from Wednesday to Monday next week to avoid requiring overnight stays for cabin crew.
Some flights may also be canceled as a result of this measure, Lufthansa added in a statement.
Italian airline ITA Airways, now majority-owned by the Lufthansa Group, said it would also suspend night flights to Tel Aviv until Tuesday next week.
US President Donald Trump claimed that the violence against protesters in Iran was ending, while warning that Washington would monitor developments closely.
Trump has repeatedly expressed support for the protesters and said the US could take "very strong action" if the violence continues.
The G7 foreign ministers also condemned the "deliberate use of violence" against the protesters. They urged authorities to show restraint and respect human rights, while warning of the possibility of additional action. This is a G7 statement never made against Israel, despite its massacre of more than 70,000 Palestinians in a two-year genocide.
Meanwhile, Iranian officials have accused the US and Israel of supporting what they call unrest and terrorism related to the protests. An Israeli television journalist, identified as X, claimed to have received reports that foreign powers were sending weapons to protesters to kill security forces.
Iranian authorities have not released official casualty figures, although they report more than 100 police and security personnel have been killed. Meanwhile, US-funded Iranian human rights groups have reported thousands of deaths and injuries since the protests began in late December.
Read: Indonesia Admits Communication Hurdles With Citizens in Iran Amid Crisis
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