Iran temporarily shut airspace as strains deepen with US; Qatar base personnel asked to evacuate

Iran abruptly shut down its airspace to commercial traffic for over four hours early Thursday amid heightened tensions with the United States over Tehran’s violent crackdown on nationwide protests, prompting global aviation reroutes. Separately, the U.S. reportedly advised some personnel at a key military base in Qatar to evacuate.

The temporary closure caused multiple international airlines to divert flights, though Iran’s Civil Aviation Authority later said skies were open and operations had resumed, without acknowledging the shutdown, The Associated Press reported.

The incident came as the U.S. Embassy in Qatar advised its staff to avoid nonessential travel to Al Udeid Air Base and recommended that American citizens do the same, according to Reuters. The embassy in Kuwait also ordered a pause in travel to military facilities. The Gulf nation of Qatar confirmed the evacuations were linked to “current regional tensions.”

Al Udeid is the largest U.S. military air base in the Middle East, serving as a central hub for U.S. regional operations and houses thousands of American troops, making it strategically important in any U.S. response to Iran.

Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, referred to a June missile attack by Tehran on Al Udeid, calling it a demonstration of Iran’s response capabilities. The base houses thousands of U.S. military personnel and had previously been targeted in retaliation for U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

In a statement posted online, Qatar’s international media office reiterated its commitment to protecting citizens and critical infrastructure, saying it had taken necessary steps in response to rising security threats. The measures at Al Udeid were described as precautionary.

The United Nations Security Council scheduled an emergency session Thursday afternoon at the request of the United States to discuss the developments.

President Donald Trump issued a series of statements over the past two days, saying he had been told that Iran had stopped plans to execute protesters detained during recent anti-government demonstrations. On Tuesday, he told Iranian protesters that “help is on the way” and that the U.S. would “act accordingly.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, responding to questions about possible U.S. action, said he preferred a diplomatic resolution but expressed skepticism about American intentions.

“My message is: Between war and diplomacy, diplomacy is a better way, although we don’t have any positive experience from the United States,” he told Fox News.

Human rights groups reported that at least 2,615 people have died in the government’s crackdown on nationwide demonstrations since late December over Iran’s collapsing economy and a steep decline in the value of its currency. Videos shared by activists depict rows of bodies in Tehran’s morgues, with claims that hundreds more remain unaccounted for.

According to AP, the current death toll surpasses that of any previous unrest in Iran since the 1979 revolution.

Iranian authorities confirmed opposition activist Erfan Soltani was arrested on charges of collusion and propaganda against the regime but denied that he had been sentenced to death, Sky News reports. A relative was quoted as saying that Soltani had not been executed despite being scheduled for hanging the previous day.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency had earlier said Soltani would be the first executed protester, with the State Department warning others could follow. Trump had repeatedly warned of consequences if executions were conducted.

In a separate development, Iranian satellite internet access improved after Elon Musk’s SpaceX dropped its Starlink fees in Iran, enabling more people to bypass government restrictions. The AP quoted activists as saying that Starlink also issued a firmware update to counter signal jamming. The service, though banned by Iranian law, allowed videos from protest sites to reach global audiences.

Trump recently told reporters aboard Air Force One that he intended to ask Musk to assist protesters in Iran, a move later confirmed by the White House press secretary. SpaceX has not officially commented.

In his Oval Office interview with Reuters, Trump expressed doubt about the ability of exiled Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi to unify Iranians, saying, “He seems very nice, but I don’t know how he’d play within his own country.” Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s deposed shah, has lived abroad since before the 1979 revolution.

Trump said the regime in Tehran could fall but added, “Whether or not it falls or not, it’s going to be an interesting period of time.”