Tensions are up in the air again in the Middle East. This is the reason why Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have canceled their Saturday and Sunday flights to Middle East destinations including Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, according to flight information published on airport websites and airlines announcements.
In North America, United Airways and Air Canada have also canceled their flights to Israel while the Lufthansa Group announced last week that it would suspend nighttime flights to Israel until at least the end of January
Although mostly described as temporary measures, they show intense speculation that a U.S. strike targeting Iran is being prepared. On Thursday, on his way back from the World Economic Summit of Davos, U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that an “armada” was heading to the region.
“We have a big flotilla going in that direction, and we’ll see what happens,” he said. Beside this naval force, the Pentagon ordered the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and three Tomahawk-missile-firing destroyers in the South China Sea to head towards Iran. Trump declared to hope he would not have to use it, as he renewed warnings to Tehran against murdering protesters or restarting its nuclear program.
Iran warned the U.S.A. of retaliation. Talking to news agency Reuters, a senior Iranian official said on Friday that Iran will treat any attack “as an all-out war against us. This military buildup – we hope it is not intended for real confrontation – but our military is ready for the worst-case scenario. This is why everything is on high alert in Iran,” added the senior Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
