Slew of international airlines canceling flights to Middle East destinations including Israel amid Iran tensions
Lufthansa, Air France and Air Canada among the top carriers cancelling their flights
Several major airlines, including Lufthansa, Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and Swiss have canceled their Saturday flights to Middle East destinations including Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, according to flight information published on airport websites, amid fears of a conflict involving Iran.
United Airways and Air Canada have also canceled their flights to Israel amid intense speculation that a U.S. strike targeting Iran may be in the offing.
On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump spoke of an "armada" heading towards Iran, adding he hoped he would not have to use it, as he renewed warnings to Tehran against murdering protesters or restarting its nuclear program.
U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers will arrive in the Middle East in the coming days.
One official said additional air-defense systems were also being eyed for the Middle East, which could be critical to guard against any Iranian strike on U.S. bases in the region.
The deployments are seen as expanding the options available to Trump, both to better defend U.S. forces throughout the region at a moment of tensions and to take any additional military action after striking Iranian nuclear sites in June, during the 12-day war which saw Iran's military and nuclear installations battered by Israel, before the U.S. dropped bunker-busters on the Fordow site.