Tehran denies military response to air restrictions

• Iran’s Supreme National Security Council says Tehran does not intend to respond militarily to recent restrictions on Iranian flights.
• The council says it is pursuing negotiations to lift the restrictions while keeping nonmilitary measures against specific airports as a possible response.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has denied reports that Tehran intends to launch a military response to recent restrictions on Iranian flights and airspace access.

In a statement issued Saturday, the council’s secretariat said it was addressing what it described as “inaccurate interpretations” of remarks by its secretary, Mohsen Rezaei.

The statement said negotiations with relevant countries to lift what Tehran described as “illegally imposed airspace restrictions” were being pursued seriously.

The council specifically rejected “the claim that Iran intends to engage in military retaliation in response to recent airspace restrictions.”

It said Iran could implement various nonmilitary countermeasures against specific airports if necessary, adding that it hoped the situation would not reach that stage.

The clarification follows warnings from Rezaei on Wednesday that countries cooperating with US measures targeting Iranian aviation could face consequences. Rezaei had said that if neighboring countries helped prevent Iranian aircraft from using their airports, their own airports could also be affected.

The dispute comes as US sanctions targeting Iran’s aviation sector have disrupted several international routes.

Azerbaijan and Georgia suspended Iranian airline flights, while services involving Baghdad and Muscat were also halted. Restrictions have expanded as Washington warned companies providing services to Iranian carriers that they could face secondary sanctions.

The latest developments have also affected Iranian flights to Iraq, with restrictions reported at airports in Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah.

Iran’s latest statement signals that, while Tehran continues to oppose the restrictions, its publicly stated response at this stage is focused on negotiations and possible nonmilitary measures rather than military retaliation.