Airports close across Middle East as the Israel-Iran conflict shutters the region's airspace
BEIRUT: After Israeli strikes landed near the hotel where he was staying in the Iranian province of Qom, Aimal Hussein desperately wanted to return home. But the 55-year-old Afghan businessman couldn't find a way, with Iranian airspace completely shut down.
He fled to Tehran after the strike Sunday, but no taxi would take him to the border as the conflict between Iran and Israel intensified.
'Flights, markets, everything is closed, and I am living in the basement of a small hotel,' Hussein told The Associated Press over phone on Monday. "I am trying to get to the border by taxi, but they are hard to find, and no one is taking us.'
Israel launched a major attack Friday with strikes in the Iranian capital of Tehran and elsewhere, killing senior military officials, nuclear scientists, and destroying critical infrastructure. Among the targets was a nuclear enrichment facility about 18 miles from Qom. Iran has retaliated with hundreds of drones and missiles.
The dayslong attacks between the two bitter enemies have opened a new chapter in their turbulent recent history. Many in the region fear a wider conflict as they watch waves of attacks across their skies every night.
The conflict has forced most countries in the Middle East to close their airspace. Dozens of airports have stopped all flights or severely reduced operations, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded and others unable to flee the conflict or travel home.
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