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".



Magnitude 6.1 Earthquake Hits Türkiye

A full Sturgeon moon rises behind Galata tower in Istanbul, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
A full Sturgeon moon rises behind Galata tower in Istanbul, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
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Magnitude 6.1 Earthquake Hits Türkiye

A full Sturgeon moon rises behind Galata tower in Istanbul, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
A full Sturgeon moon rises behind Galata tower in Istanbul, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake occurred in Türkiye's northwest on Sunday evening, sending shocks that were felt some 200 kilometers (125 miles) away in Istanbul.

Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency said the 7:53 pm earthquake was followed by several aftershocks, including one measuring 4.6, and urged citizens not to enter damaged buildings.

Several buildings collapsed in the Balikesir province after the quake, according to images broadcast by Turkish media.

Türkiye sits on top of major fault lines and earthquakes are frequent.

In 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed more than 53,000 people in Türkiye and destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings in 11 southern and southeastern provinces. Another 6,000 people were killed in the northern parts of neighboring Syria.