Iran has issued a formal notice to pilots warning of planned missile launches across broad areas of the country’s south on Thursday, according to an official notification to air missions, or NOTAM.
Data from the US Federal Aviation Administration shows that airspace in the designated launch zones will be closed to traffic between 5:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Israel time (10:30 p.m. Wednesday to 8:30 a.m. Thursday EST).
Iran’s exercise in the Strait of Hormuz
The notice is intended to ensure the safety of civilian aircraft passing through the Persian Gulf region and to compel international airlines to reroute flights during the scheduled activity.
The reports are being closely monitored in Israel and in Western countries after Iran conducted numerous military exercises in recent weeks. Those drills on Wednesday also led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint for global energy supplies.
Separately, the United States on Wednesday announced sanctions against 18 senior officials in Iran’s government and communications sector, accusing them of involvement in serious human rights abuses and the suppression of freedom of expression and assembly.
In a statement, State Department deputy spokesperson Thomas Pigott said the move was carried out under the US Immigration and Nationality Act at the initiative of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The visa restrictions will also apply to the officials’ immediate family members.
According to the statement, during a wave of protests in Iran the government used violence and repression against tens of thousands of peaceful demonstrators. It also said authorities nearly completely shut down internet access nationwide, a measure described as unprecedented in its scope and duration, preventing independent documentation of human rights abuses and cutting off Iranians from the outside world.
Washington stressed that the Iranian government continues to restrict its citizens’ ability to exercise basic freedoms. “The United States stands with the Iranian people,” the statement said, referencing past remarks by President Donald Trump that Washington supports the right of Iranians to freedom of expression.
The State Department said that 58 individuals have so far been subjected to restrictions under the policy and that the United States will continue to use available tools to expose human rights abuses and promote accountability among officials in Iran and others involved in repression.