According to a notice published by the US Federal Aviation Administration, Iran closed its airspace at 5:15 p.m. ET (2215 GMT) on Wednesday to all flights except international services operating to and from Iran with official permission, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The notice was lifted shortly before 10 p.m. ET, or 0300 GMT, according to flight-tracking service Flightradar24. Data from the site showed that five flights operated by Iranian carriers, including Mahan Air, Yazd Airways and AVA Airlines, were among the first aircraft to resume flying over the country.
Flightradar24 said that at a similar time last week, dozens of aircraft had been in the air over Iran, highlighting the scale of the disruption caused by the temporary closure.
The move came as President Donald Trump has been weighing a response to developments in Iran, where the country is experiencing its largest anti-government protests in years.
Amid the heightened tensions, a US official said on Wednesday that the United States was withdrawing some personnel from its bases in the Middle East. The decision followed comments from a senior Iranian official who said Tehran had warned neighboring countries that it would target American bases if Washington were to carry out strikes.
