Lufthansa Says Canceling Tehran Flights due to Security Uncertainty

Planes stand on the tarmac during a pilots strike of German airline Lufthansa at Frankfurt airport, Germany, November 23, 2016. (Reuters)
Planes stand on the tarmac during a pilots strike of German airline Lufthansa at Frankfurt airport, Germany, November 23, 2016. (Reuters)
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Lufthansa Says Canceling Tehran Flights due to Security Uncertainty

Planes stand on the tarmac during a pilots strike of German airline Lufthansa at Frankfurt airport, Germany, November 23, 2016. (Reuters)
Planes stand on the tarmac during a pilots strike of German airline Lufthansa at Frankfurt airport, Germany, November 23, 2016. (Reuters)

Germany's flagship carrier Lufthansa said on Friday that its group airlines were canceling flights to and from Tehran until Jan. 20 inclusive due to the uncertain security situation of the airspace around the Iranian capital.

Lufthansa said the move was a "precautionary measure" and it would decide if and when its flights to Iran would resume when it had more information.

US officials said on Thursday that the government believed Iran accidentally shot down a Ukrainian airliner shortly after Iran fired missiles at two US military bases in Iraq, while Iran was on high alert.

Iran has denied the allegations.

All 176 people on board the jetliner were killed.

A US official, citing satellite data, said Washington had concluded with a high degree of certainty that anti-aircraft missiles brought down the plane in error.

The official said the data showed the plane airborne for two minutes after departing Tehran when heat signatures of two surface-to-air missiles were detected. There was an explosion in the vicinity and heat data showed the plane on fire as it fell.

US military satellites detect infrared emissions from heat.

US President Donald Trump said he believed "somebody could have made a mistake".



Trump Says Musk Will Face ‘Very Serious Consequences’ If He Funds Democratic Candidates

 President Donald Trump points as he arrives on Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, NJ, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP)
President Donald Trump points as he arrives on Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, NJ, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP)
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Trump Says Musk Will Face ‘Very Serious Consequences’ If He Funds Democratic Candidates

 President Donald Trump points as he arrives on Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, NJ, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP)
President Donald Trump points as he arrives on Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, NJ, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP)

US President Donald Trump, in an interview with NBC News on Saturday, said there would be "serious consequences" if billionaire Elon Musk funds Democratic Party candidates to run against Republicans who vote for Trump's sweeping tax-cut bill.

Trump declined to say what those consequences would be in the phone interview, and went on to add that he had not had discussions about whether to investigate Musk.

Asked if he thought his relationship with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO was over, Trump said, "I would assume so, yeah."