Turkish Airlines has cancelled five scheduled flights to Tehran amid escalating protests in Iran over the rising cost of living, according to information displayed on the Istanbul Airport application.
The cancellations affected all five Turkish Airlines flights scheduled to arrive in the Iranian capital on Friday. In addition, five flights operated by Iranian carriers were also cancelled, while seven other flights remained scheduled as of Friday.
Turkish authorities have yet to comment on the situation in Iran, where protests have intensified against the government led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The demonstrations come as Iran grapples with a deepening economic crisis caused by years of international sanctions and the aftermath of the June conflict with Israel.
Rights groups have accused Iranian security forces of using live ammunition against protesters. Norway-based non-governmental organisation Iran Human Rights said on Thursday that at least 45 protesters, including eight minors, had been killed since the demonstrations began.
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Flight tracking website Flight Radar reported that a Turkish Airlines aircraft bound for Shiraz and a Pegasus Airlines flight headed to Mashhad were forced to turn back from Iranian airspace on Thursday night.
Turkey shares a land border of about 500 kilometres with Iran, with three active border crossings between the two countries.