Emirates Airbus A380-800 airplane at New York JFK airport (JFK) in New York. Picture: iStock
Dubai-based Emirates Thursday cancelled flights to Iraq, Iran and Jordan for three days over “regional unrest”, after an Iranian missile strike on Israel stoked fears of a wider war.
“Emirates is cancelling all flights to/from Iraq (Basra and Baghdad), Iran (Tehran), and Jordan (Amman) on 4th and 5th October due to regional unrest” with immediate effect, said the airline.
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The Middle East’s biggest airline had previously announced cancellations between Dubai and Beirut until October 8, as several other carriers also put some services on hold.
Qatar Airways has temporarily suspended flights to and from Iraq, Iran and Lebanon, said a statement on its website which did not specify when they would resume.
On Tuesday, German airline group Lufthansa said it was suspending flights to Beirut up to and including November 30.
Lufthansa group flights to Tel Aviv will be cancelled until October 31, while trips to Tehran are closed until October 14.
On Tuesday, Iran fired about 200 missiles including hypersonic weapons towards Israel, some of which flew over Jordanian and Iraqi airspace.
Israel said it intercepted most of the missiles.
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Israel vowed to make Iran “pay” for firing a barrage of missiles at its territory, with Tehran warning on Wednesday it would launch an even bigger attack if it is targeted.
Iran launched its second direct attack on Israel in history on Tuesday, firing what it said were 200 missiles including hypersonic weapons, and sending frightened Israeli civilians into shelters.
Israel, which put the number of missiles fired at its territory at 180, pounded Lebanese strongholds of Iran ally Hezbollah, with heavy strikes early Wednesday on south Beirut.
Israel shifted its focus last month from the war in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attacks, to securing its northern border with Lebanon, where it is fighting Hezbollah.
After issuing numerous threats against Israel, Iran launched its second attack since April, sparking panic in Israel and around the region.
Israel intercepted most of Iran’s missiles, while Israeli medics reported two people injured by shrapnel.
One of the missiles damaged a school building.
In the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian was killed in the city of Jericho “when pieces of a rocket fell from the sky and hit him”, the city’s governor Hussein Hamayel told AFP.
“Iran made a big mistake tonight and will pay for it,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
“Whoever attacks us, we attack them.”
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who was at the command and control centre monitoring the interception of Iranian missiles, also vowed vengeance.
“Iran has not learned a simple lesson — those who attack the state of Israel, pay a heavy price,” he said in a statement.
By: Agence France-Presse
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