Iran Lifts Flight Restrictions After Brief Halt In Operations: 'Safe Conditions Ensured'

Flights were initially cancelled due to operational restrictions, Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation said. The restrictions coincided with 1st anniversary of Hamas' 2023 attack on Israel.  

Flight restrictions in Iran have been lifted as conditions were deemed safe, reducing the duration of cancellations announced earlier by the country's Civil Aviation Organisation. A spokesperson for the organisation had earlier said that flights from Iran's airports would be cancelled until 6 am on Monday from 9 pm (local time) on Sunday, according to a Reuters report.

"After ensuring favourable and safe flight conditions by the Civil Aviation Organisation, all announced restrictions are removed and airlines are allowed to carry out flight operations," the spokesperson was quoted as saying 6 hours before the end of the flight cancellations deadline.

The flights were initially cancelled due to operational restrictions, the spokesperson said, as per Reuters.

The restrictions coincided with the first anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the ongoig war in the Middle East.  

Iran initially imposed flight restrictions on Tuesday when it launched missile strikes against Israel, an attack to which the latter has vowed to retaliate. Iran fired about 180 missiles at Israel in retaliation for its campaign against Hezbollah and Hamas, and the killing of the groups' top leaders.

In a statement, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) said the attack was in response to Israel's assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a southern suburb of Beirut. Nasrallah's killing had sent shockwaves throughout Lebanon and the Middle East, where he had been a dominant political and military figure for more than three decades.

Hezbollah is backed by Iran, Israel’s chief regional rival. 

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran would "pay" for its missile attack, which reportedly targeted military- and security-related sites in Israel. At a security cabinet meeting in Jerusalem after Iran's missile strikes, Netanyahu said Iran had made a big mistake.