ISLAMABAD: A spokesman for Pakistan’s national carrier said on Wednesday PIA was suspending the use of Iran’s airspace until further notice, hours after Tehran launched missile attacks on Israel, which promised to retaliate as fears of a wider war in the Middle East intensified.
Washington said it would work with longtime ally Israel to make sure Iran faced “severe consequences” for Tuesday’s attack, which Israel said involved more than 180 ballistic missiles.
The United Nations Security Council scheduled a meeting about the Middle East for today, Wednesday, and the European Union called for an immediate ceasefire.
“Until the situation becomes clear, Iranian airspace will not be used,” a spokesman for PIA said.
PIA uses two corridors of Iran’s airspace: a northern corridor used by flights to Canada and Turkiye and a southern corridor utilized for UAE, Bahrain, Doha and Saudi Arabia flights.
Iran’s airstrikes marked it biggest ever military blow against Israel.
Sirens sounded across the country and explosions rattled Jerusalem and the Jordan River valley as the entire population was told to move into bomb shelters.
No injuries were reported in Israel, but one man was killed in the occupied West Bank, authorities there said.
Iran described the campaign as defensive and solely aimed at Israeli military facilities. Iran’s state news agency said three Israeli military bases had been targeted.
Tehran said its assault was a response to Israeli killings of militant leaders and aggression in Lebanon against Hezbollah and in Gaza.
Israel activated air defenses against Iran’s bombardment and most missiles were intercepted “by Israel and a defensive coalition led by the United States,” Israeli Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a video on X, adding: “Iran’s attack is a severe and dangerous escalation.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to hit back.
“Iran made a big mistake tonight — and it will pay for it,” he said at the outset of an emergency political security cabinet meeting late on Tuesday, according to a statement.
Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said in a statement carried by state media that any Israeli response would be met with “vast destruction” of Israeli infrastructure. It also said it would target regional assets of any Israeli ally that got involved.
Fears that Iran and the US could be drawn into a regional war have risen with Israel’s growing assault on Lebanon in the past two weeks, including the start of a ground operation there on Monday, and its year-old conflict in the Gaza Strip.
With inputs from Reuters
