Lufthansa cancels flights to Iran, Middle East on alert

Lufthansa announced on Thursday it had extended the suspension of flights to Tehran amid growing speculation of Iranian retaliation against Israel. concerns in the Middle East. Russia has also advised its citizens not to travel to the Middle East.

Iran has vowed to retaliate for an airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus, Syria, on April 1, raising tensions in the region. The attack killed a top Iranian general and six other Iranian military officers. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Israel “must be punished and should be punished.” Notably, Israel has yet to claim responsibility for the April 1 attack.

Lufthansa said on Thursday it had suspended flights to and from Tehran until April 13. A spokesman for the airline said it had decided not to operate flights from Frankfurt to Tehran last weekend to avoid crews having to disembark and spend the night in Tehran. .

Russia has also asked its citizens not to travel to the Middle East, specifically Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. The Kremlin also urged countries in the region to exercise restraint.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by the Kremlin news agency as saying: “At the moment, it is very important for everyone to exercise restraint so as not to lead to The situation in the region is completely unstable, the situation in the region is not entirely stable and predictable.” Reuters.

“We call on all countries in the region to exercise restraint,” Peskov said.

Meanwhile, Israel, which is embroiled in the war in Gaza, says it is prepared for other scenarios as well.Iranian Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “We are preparing to meet the security needs of the State of Israel, both defensively and offensively.”