The Federal Aviation Administration of the United States banned commercial airlines from operating over the countries of Iran and Iraq, and also over the airspace of the Persian and Oman gulfs, all located west of the Asian continent.
This decision was made in the wake of the missile attack launched by the Iranians against the bases of Ain al Asad and Erbil, located in Iraq, which are used by the United States Army, in response to the assassination of Iranian General Qasem. Soleimani, after an execution approved by US President Donald Trump.
The US authorities affirmed that ‘such restrictive measures are often precautionary to prevent civil aircraft from being confused with aircraft involved in armed conflict’. In addition, the agency warned of a potential miscalculation or misidentification for civil aircraft in the midst of the current conflict between Washington (USA) and Tehran (Iran).
The response of both countries
After the attack, the Pentagon reported that it is still working on the initial balance of damages and that at the moment information about victims as a result of the attacks is unknown.
On the other hand, Iranian television mentioned that dozens of missiles were used against the two targets in Iraqi territory. Although in Washington the Pentagon mentioned that more than a dozen projectiles had been launched against the airbases of Ain al Asad and Erbil.
By assuming responsibility for the attacks, the Iranian government warned that there will be more devastating responses in case the United States decides a kickback.
Terrorists
In response to the first American fatality, the Pentagon reported that the United States carried out ‘defensive attacks’ in Iraq and Syria against the Iraqi militia Kataeb Hezbollah (KH), which killed at least 25 people, according to the pro-government militias, mainly composed of Shiites (Muslim followers).
Iran strongly condemned those US attacks and called them «terrorism», and in which hundreds of supporters and members of Shiite militias reacted to the attack and assaulted the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.