New Delhi . An Air India flight from Delhi to Tel Aviv returned to Delhi midway on Saturday after Israel carried out a ‘preventive attack’ on Iran on Saturday morning. International flights have been affected due to the closure of airspace in many parts of the Middle East.
Israel’s Defense Minister confirmed that the country has attacked Iran. There were reports of massive explosions in Tehran. According to local media, several missiles fell on University Street and Jomhouri area in the Iranian capital. Thick smoke was seen rising near Pasteur Street, where many important government buildings are located. Exact details of damage and casualties were not immediately available.
Meanwhile, low-cost airline IndiGo also issued an advisory saying it is monitoring the situation. “We are closely monitoring regional updates regarding Iran and its airspace. The safety of our passengers and crew is our top priority,” the airline said.
The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) posted on Twitter that air raid sirens were sounded across the country and alerts were sent to people’s mobile phones in advance, advising citizens to stay near safe places.
The army described this alert as a precautionary measure, because there is a possibility of missiles being fired towards Israel.
As a security measure, Israel ordered schools closed across the country, advised people to work from home and banned public events.
Several countries in the region closed or restricted their airspace immediately after the attacks, affecting international flight operations.
Several airlines diverted flights to Tel Aviv and surrounding destinations.
According to flight tracking platform Flightradar24, these restrictions affected many airlines. Flight FZ984 from Kazan to Dubai was diverted to Baku, while AI126 coming from Chicago to Delhi was flying over Syria.
G9950 from Sharjah to Moscow was routed over Pakistan, while EK225 from Dubai to San Francisco flew over Afghanistan and Pakistan to avoid restricted areas.
This development has happened at a time when the situation remains sensitive at the diplomatic level. Tension is increasing between America and Iran regarding a possible nuclear deal.
US President Donald Trump recently described Iran as ‘very difficult’ and ‘very dangerous’. A third round of talks between Iranian and US officials took place in Geneva on Thursday, with another round of talks scheduled for Saturday.
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