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Iran appeared to reopen its airspace on Thursday after a sudden overnight closure disrupted flights across the region, even as airlines largely continued to avoid the country amid heightened security warnings and ongoing regional tensions.
The overnight closure lasted around five hours after a Notice to Air Missions, or NOTAM, was issued, according to the aviation risk-monitoring site Safe Airspace.
Safe Airspace warns that the main danger for civil aircraft in Iranian airspace is misidentification by air defense systems during heightened tensions, rating the overall risk level currently as “One — Do Not Fly.”
Empty airspace over Iran is seen in this screengrab from FlightRadar24 on Jan. 15, 2026, amid heightened tensions and concerns about potential military action between the United States and Iran. (FlightRadar24.com/Handout via REUTERS)
President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that he was informed the killing of protesters in Iran was “stopping.”
“We have been notified and really strongly, but we’ll find out what that all means. But, we’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping,” he said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., disagreed with Trump, writing on X that every indication he’s seen shows that the Iranian regime’s killing of anti-government protesters is “still very much in full swing.”
“The death toll is mounting by the hour. Hoping that help is on the way,” he wrote.
TRUMP ENVOY REPORTEDLY MEETS WITH EXILED IRANIAN PRINCE AS REGIME FACES PROTESTS
Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which tracks human rights violations in Iran, said on Wednesday that nationwide protests continued into the 18th day as authorities maintained a near-total internet shutdown.
The group’s aggregated figures showed 617 protest gatherings in 187 cities across the country, the arrest of at least 18,470 people and the confirmed deaths of 2,615 individuals.
HRANA said 2,435 of those killed were protesters, including 13 children under the age of 18.
TOP IRANIAN OFFICIAL DOWNPLAYS DEATH TOLL, BLAMES ‘ISRAELI PLOT’ AS US CONSIDERS STRIKES
Cars burn in a street during a protest over the collapse of the currency’s value in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2026. (Stringer/West Asia News Agency via REUTERS)
Trump has threatened action against the regime, warning Tehran in multiple Truth Social posts to stop killing its people.
“We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” he wrote on New Year’s Day.
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The president said on Tuesday that he had canceled all meetings with Iranian officials and called on protesters to “TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!”
“Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price,” Trump wrote, adding, “HELP IS ON ITS WAY.”
