CAIRO: Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq have reopened their airspace today following closing it late on Saturday as Iran launched missile and drone strikes against Israel, the three countries stated on Sunday.
According to Lebanon state run television, the country stated that its airport will resume its operations following the overnight closure. Iraq’s aviation officials also said security risks had now been overcome.
On the other hand, Jordan’s official Television reported that it had resumed air traffic operations, quoting aviation officials. Earlier, Jordan had announced the closure of its airspace to all flights temporarily from 11:00pm local time on Saturday, for several hours. The authorities said at the time that the action was taken in order to ensure the safety and security of civil aviation in Jordan’s airspace.
Lebanon, Jordan Reopen Airspace After Iran Strikes
In statement the government of Jordan said that it dealt with some “flying objects” over the country on Sunday night and also shot them down, saying that no injuries were reported in the country.
Iran launched drones and also fired missiles at Israel on Saturday — its first direct strike on Israel in a retaliatory attack that also raises the threat of wider conflict in the region.
The US president Joe Biden also issued a statement on Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Israel, saying he denounces the attack. According to media reports, he issued the statement after speaking on the telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. China has said that it is “deeply concerned” regarding escalating tensions in the region following Iran fired drones in a retaliatory attack against Israel, a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
Pakistan has expressed deep concern over the current and latest developments in the Middle East and called on all sides to exercise utmost restraint and move towards de-escalation, a foreign office statement said on Sunday.
