Lebanon has asked Tehran to suspend Iranian airline flights to Beirut for security reasons at least until February 18. This was announced by the head of the Civil Aviation Organization of the Islamic Republic, Hossein Pourfarzaneh.
“Correspondence between Iranian and Lebanese aviation regulators reflects Lebanon's request to suspend flights to Beirut until February 18 for security reasons, as well as due to the cancellation of all international flights,“ the IRNA news agency quoted an Iranian official as saying. According to him, the situation at Beirut airport is currently complicated and tense, but the Iranian side is monitoring it and hopes that everything will return to normal by February 18.
On February 14, activists from the Shiite organization Hezbollah closed the highway to Beirut International Airport due to the Lebanese authorities' refusal to accept planes from the Iranian airline Mahan Air. On the night of Friday to Saturday, a crowd of protesters attacked a convoy escorting the deputy commander of the UN peacekeeping forces and set fire to one of the jeeps.
On Saturday, at the request of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, security forces detained 26 people involved in the attack. The army has unblocked all highways blocked by demonstrators. The head of state promised not to allow a repetition of actions that destabilize the situation.
Source: tass.ru