Air France Says Jet Flew over Iraq during Iran Attack on Israel

There has been surprise and concern about the incident - AFP
There has been surprise and concern about the incident - AFP
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Air France Says Jet Flew over Iraq during Iran Attack on Israel

There has been surprise and concern about the incident - AFP
There has been surprise and concern about the incident - AFP

Air France said Wednesday it had launched an inquiry into how a jet on a Paris-Dubai flight went over Iraq as Iranian missiles taking part in an attack on Israel went through the same airspace.

Iran launched a barrage of missiles toward Israeli territory on October 1 as tensions in the Middle East soared. The missiles had to cross Iraq to reach Israel.

Air France flight AF662 crossed Iraqi territory at the start of the attack, just before Air France ordered its planes to stop flying over Iraq and local authorities closed Iraqi airspace, according to the French carrier.

The LCI television channel, which first reported the incident, said the pilots saw the missiles in the night sky from their cockpit and that Iraqi air traffic control had wished them "good luck".

"On October 1, information identified an upcoming ballistic missile attack on Israel by Iran. Consequently, and without waiting for instructions from the Iraqi authorities, Air France decided to suspend flights over the country's airspace by its aircraft as of 1700 GMT," Air France told AFP in a statement.

Flight AF662 "was flying over the south of Iraq when the Iranian attack began, at around 1645 GMT. It left the country's airspace shortly before 1700 GMT. Iraqi airspace was not officially closed by the local authorities until 1756 GMT," it added, AFP reported.

The statement said Air France flights "already avoided Israeli, Lebanese and Iranian airspace" due to the international tensions and that "overflight of Iraqi airspace was limited to a specific corridor used by all airlines".

A company spokesperson told AFP that "an internal investigation has been opened into this incident".

The airline did not comment on whether the pilots had seen the missiles. Ballistic missiles fly at an altitude generally higher to that of commercial airliners.

A board member of the National Union of Airline Pilots, Laurent Veque, confirmed the incident saying "the plane ended up in this Iraqi corridor in the middle of the hostilities launched by Iran against Israel".

"Light must be shed on what happened", he told LCI.

Iran said it launched 200 missiles at Israel on October 1, following the September 27 killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, by an Israeli missile in Beirut. Tehran said 90 percent hit their targets, while the Israeli military said many were intercepted.



Japan Expresses Concern to China over Russia-North Korea Ties

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (R), shake hands before a meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, 04 November 2024. EPA/Mikhail Tereshchenko / Sputnik / Kremlin Pool
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (R), shake hands before a meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, 04 November 2024. EPA/Mikhail Tereshchenko / Sputnik / Kremlin Pool
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Japan Expresses Concern to China over Russia-North Korea Ties

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (R), shake hands before a meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, 04 November 2024. EPA/Mikhail Tereshchenko / Sputnik / Kremlin Pool
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (R), shake hands before a meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, 04 November 2024. EPA/Mikhail Tereshchenko / Sputnik / Kremlin Pool

Japan's top national security official said he conveyed "serious concerns" to China's foreign minister over North Korea's deepening ties with Russia after the pair held talks in Beijing.

Their meeting on Monday was four and a half hours long, according to Japanese media, which said the two also discussed a possible head-to-head between President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba this month at a summit in Peru.

"Regarding current events on the Korean Peninsula, cooperation between Russia and the DPRK came up as a topic of discussion," Takeo Akiba told reporters late Monday, using the acronym of North Korea's official name.

"I conveyed our country's serious concerns about this," he added after the talks with Wang Yi.

The United States and its allies say they believe up to 10,000 North Korean troops are on the brink of entering combat in Ukraine from Russia's side.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted the North Korean foreign minister, who has previously said the country will stand by Russia until its "victory" in Ukraine.

China considers Russia and North Korea its close partners. Washington has also expressed to China its concerns over Moscow and Pyongyang's deepening military engagement.

Monday's high-level talks were at China's invitation, Japanese government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Tuesday.

Akiba said he and Wang "affirmed that our two countries share the broad direction of promoting our strategic and mutually beneficial relations as well as building constructive and stable relations".

Relations between Japan and China have worsened as Beijing builds up its military capacity in the region, and as Japan boosts security ties with the United States and its allies.

Prime Minister Ishiba -- who took office just one month ago and could lead a minority government after his ruling coalition lost its majority in snap elections -- is hoping to meet Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru from November 10-16.

Akiba also reiterated Tokyo's concerns about the fatal stabbing of a Japanese schoolboy in Shenzhen in September, he said.