Europe Aviation Agency Urges Caution in Israeli, Iranian Airspace 

A view from the southern Gaza strip shows drones or missiles vying for targets in southern Israel, early 14 April 2024. (EPA)
A view from the southern Gaza strip shows drones or missiles vying for targets in southern Israel, early 14 April 2024. (EPA)
TT

Europe Aviation Agency Urges Caution in Israeli, Iranian Airspace 

A view from the southern Gaza strip shows drones or missiles vying for targets in southern Israel, early 14 April 2024. (EPA)
A view from the southern Gaza strip shows drones or missiles vying for targets in southern Israel, early 14 April 2024. (EPA)

Europe's aviation regulator reaffirmed advice to airlines to use caution in Israeli and Iranian airspace though it said no civil overflights had been placed at risk during weekend tensions surrounding Iranian drone and missile strikes on Israel. 

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said it and the European Commission would "continue to closely monitor the situation to assess any potential safety risks for EU aircraft operators and be ready to act as appropriate". 

EASA guidance that is already in place for airlines on Israel and Iran continues to apply, it said in an emailed note. 

That included exercising caution and following all available aeronautical publications for Israel and neighboring airspace up to 100 nautical miles surrounding the country. 

For Iran, it recommended caution and said "there continues to be an increased potential for miscalculation and/or misidentification" in airspace over the Iranian capital Tehran. 

Global airlines face some disruption after Iran's attack on Israel with more than 300 missiles and drones, which were mostly shot down by Israel's US-backed missile defense system or its allies before they reached Israeli airspace. 

The attack was in response to a suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran's Syria consulate on April 1 in which seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards commanders and officers were killed. 

EASA said all affected airspaces - Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Iran - were closed by the relevant authorities during the relevant period. 

"There was no overflight risk for civil aviation at any time," it said. An overflight involves an aircraft transiting through airspace, typically at high cruising altitude. 

All the temporary airspace closures imposed at the weekend expired on Sunday, EASA said. 



Iran Lawmakers Move to Sack Country’s Economy Minister as Rial Plunges 

A currency dealer counts Iranian rials as the value of the rial drops, in Tehran, Iran, February 9, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
A currency dealer counts Iranian rials as the value of the rial drops, in Tehran, Iran, February 9, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
TT

Iran Lawmakers Move to Sack Country’s Economy Minister as Rial Plunges 

A currency dealer counts Iranian rials as the value of the rial drops, in Tehran, Iran, February 9, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
A currency dealer counts Iranian rials as the value of the rial drops, in Tehran, Iran, February 9, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Iran’s parliament on Wednesday received a motion from lawmakers seeking to dismiss Economy Minister Abdolnaser Hemmati amid a sharp decline in the national currency, the rial.

Under Iranian law, Hemmati must appear before the legislature within 10 days to defend his record in a session that could result in his removal.

Ahmad Naderi, a Tehran MP and member of the parliament’s presiding board, said 91 lawmakers had signed the motion.

The move follows closed-door talks between President Masoud Pezeshkian and Hemmati with MPs over the plunging rial, which has lost nearly half its value since Pezeshkian took office in July.

On the black market, the rial is now trading at more than 900,000 to the US dollar, compared with less than 600,000 in mid-2024.

The slide has accelerated since the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, a longtime Iranian ally, on December 8.

Decades of US-led sanctions have battered Iran’s economy, with inflation worsening since Washington pulled out of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal in 2018.

US President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House in January, has revived his policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran, further tightening restrictions on the country.

Pezeshkian has vowed to seek a return to the nuclear accord and the lifting of sanctions, but diplomatic efforts have so far to make any headway.

In April 2023, lawmakers dismissed the industry minister Reza Fatemi Amin over soaring car prices.