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".



Israel Says Retrieved Body of Thai Hostage Kidnapped into Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023

 Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP)
Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP)
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Israel Says Retrieved Body of Thai Hostage Kidnapped into Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023

 Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP)
Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP)

Israel says it has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage kidnapped into Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.

The Prime Minister’s office said Saturday that the body of Thai citizen Nattapong Pinta was returned to Israel in a special military operation.

Pinta was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed in captivity near the start of the war, said the government. Thais were the largest group of foreigners held captive by Hamas gunmen.

This comes two days after the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages were retrieved.

Fifty-five hostages remain in Gaza, of whom Israel says more than half are dead.

The defense minister said Saturday that Pinta's body was retrieved from the Rafah area. He had come to Israel from Thailand to work in agriculture.

On Thursday, Israel retrieved the bodies of Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai, both of whom had Israeli and US citizenship.

This comes as Israel continues its operation in Gaza. At least 22 people were killed by Israeli strikes overnight Friday into Saturday.