Air traffic in the United Arab Emirates returned to normal after the lifting of temporary preventive measures, state news agency WAM reported on Monday night (16), Brasilia time, early Tuesday morning, local time, citing the country’s General Civil Aviation Authority.
Earlier, the authority had announced the temporary closure of the country’s airspace amid the rapidly evolving regional security situation, after the Defense Ministry said it was responding to missile and drone threats originating from Iran.
What is happening in the Middle East?
The United States and Israel are at war with Iran. The conflict began on February 28, when a coordinated attack between the two countries killed the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in Tehran.
Several high-ranking officials of the Iranian regime were also killed. Furthermore, the US claims to have destroyed dozens of the country’s ships, as well as air defense systems, planes and other military targets.
In retaliation, the ayatollah regime carried out attacks against several countries in the region, such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq and Oman. Iranian officials say they are targeting only U.S. and Israeli interests in those nations.
More than 1,200 civilians have died in Iran since the start of the war, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. The White House, in turn, registered at least seven deaths of American soldiers in direct relation to the Iranian attacks.
The conflict also expanded into Lebanon. Hezbollah, an armed group supported by Iran, attacked Israeli territory in retaliation for the death of Ali Khamenei. As a result, Israel has carried out aerial offensives against what it says are Hezbollah targets in the neighboring country. Hundreds of people have died on Lebanese territory since then.
With the death of much of its leadership, an Iranian council elected a new supreme leader: Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Ali Khamenei. Experts point out that he will not make structural changes and represents continuity of repression.
Donald Trump showed dissatisfaction with this choice, calling it a “big mistake”. He had said that he would need to be involved in the process and said that Mojtaba would be “unacceptable” to Iran’s leadership.
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