Israel says it is closing its airspace as it braces for an Iranian drone attack

Israeli aviation authorities accidental they are closing the coutnry's airspace to each flights arsenic it braces for an Iranian drone attack.

The country's airdrome authorization said the closure would spell into effect astatine 12:30 a.m. section clip (5:30 p.m. EDT).

It said flights would beryllium affected and advised travelers to cheque with their airlines for changes.

Iranian authorities tv announced that Tehran had launched an onslaught toward Israel. Iraq's authorities quality bureau quoted Transportation Minister Raqqa Saadawi arsenic saying the country's airspace was closed.

Before the onslaught was announced, a FlyDubai formation from Dubai successful the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv, Israel, turned astir arsenic it was implicit Saudi Arabia, flight-tracking information showed.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. The erstwhile communicative is below.

Commandos from Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard rappelled from a chopper onto an Israeli-affiliated instrumentality vessel adjacent the Strait of Hormuz and seized the vas Saturday successful the latest onslaught betwixt the 2 countries.

The seizure followed a suspected Israeli onslaught this period connected an Iranian consular gathering successful Syria that killed 12 people, including a elder Guard general.

Iran has promised to retaliate, and U.S. President Joe Biden chopped abbreviated a play travel to his formation location successful Delaware to instrumentality to the White House and show the situation. Israel's warfare connected Hamas successful the Gaza Strip has inflamed decade-old tensions successful the Middle East, and immoderate caller onslaught threatens to escalate that struggle into a wider determination war.

Iran's state-run IRNA said a peculiar forces portion of the Guard's navy carried retired the onslaught connected the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries, a instrumentality vessel associated with London-based Zodiac Maritime.

Zodiac Maritime is portion of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer's Zodiac Group. Zodiac declined to remark and referred questions to MSC. Geneva-based MSC acknowledged the seizure and said 25 unit members were connected the ship.

"We are moving intimately with the applicable authorities to guarantee their wellbeing, and harmless instrumentality of the vessel," MSC said.

White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the unit was made up of Indian, Filipino, Pakistani, Russian and Estonian nationals and urged Iran to merchandise them and the vessel.

IRNA said the Guard would instrumentality the vas into Iranian territorial waters.

A Middle East defence official, who spoke connected information of anonymity to sermon quality matters, provided video of the onslaught to The Associated Press successful which Iranian commandos are seen rappelling onto a stack of containers connected the vessel's deck.

A unit subordinate tin beryllium heard saying: "Don't travel out." He past tells his colleagues to spell to the ship's span arsenic much commandos travel down. One commando tin beryllium seen kneeling supra the others to supply them imaginable screen fire.

The video corresponded with known details of the MSC Aries. The commandos rappelled from what appeared to beryllium a Soviet-era Mil Mi-17 helicopter, which some the Guard and the Iranian-backed Houthis successful Yemen person utilized earlier to raid ships.

The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations described the vas arsenic being "seized by determination authorities" successful the Gulf of Oman disconnected the Emirati larboard metropolis of Fujairah, without elaborating.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called connected nations to database the Guard arsenic a violent organization.

Iran "is a transgression authorities that supports Hamas' crimes and is present conducting a pirate cognition successful usurpation of planetary law," Katz said.

For days, Iranian officials including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei person threatened to "slap" Israel for its Syria strike.

Israel has been preparing for the anticipation of a nonstop onslaught from Iran and is acceptable "for immoderate scenario," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday.

"Whoever strikes us, we volition onslaught them. We volition support ourselves against each menace and we volition bash this calmly and with determination," helium said.

The U.S., Israel's main backer, has stood by the state contempt increasing concerns implicit Israel's warfare connected Gaza sidesplitting much than 33,600 Palestinians and wounding implicit 76,200 more. Israel's warfare began aft Hamas' Oct. 7 onslaught connected Israel that killed 1,200 radical and saw immoderate 250 others taken hostage.

The Pentagon said Saturday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart "to sermon urgent determination threats ... and made wide that Israel could number connected afloat U.S. enactment to support Israel against immoderate attacks by Iran and its determination proxies." National information advisor Jake Sullivan besides spoke with his counterpart to reenforce Washington's "ironclad committedness to the information of Israel."

In Iran, meanwhile, officials publically denied faked substance messages sent successful the sanction of civilian defence authorities that urged the nationalist to "prepare drinking h2o and adust food" owed to the "emerging exigency situation.

Iran since 2019 has engaged successful a bid of vessel seizures, and attacks connected vessels person been attributed to it amid ongoing tensions with the West implicit its rapidly advancing atomic program.

In erstwhile seizures, Iran's archetypal explanations made it look similar the attacks had thing to bash with wider geopolitical tensions, past aboriginal acknowledged arsenic much. In Saturday's attack, however, Iran said lone that the MSC Aries had links to Israel.

Iran has mostly avoided straight attacking Israel, contempt its targeted killings of atomic scientists and sabotage campaigns connected Iran's atomic sites. Iran has targeted Israeli oregon Jewish-linked sites done proxy forces.

Amid concerns astir the accrued tensions, Lufthansa Group connected Saturday extended its suspension of flights betwixt Frankfurt and Tehran done Thursday and said its planes would debar Iranian airspace. The German bearer besides said that, until astatine slightest Tuesday, flights to and from Amman volition beryllium operated arsenic "day flights" truthful crews won't walk a nighttime successful the Jordanian capital.

Dutch hose KLM said it volition nary longer alert implicit Iran oregon Israel but volition proceed flights to and from Tel Aviv.

The Gulf of Oman is adjacent the Strait of Hormuz, the constrictive rima of the Persian Gulf done which a 5th of each globally traded lipid passes. Fujairah, connected the United Arab Emirates' eastbound coast, is simply a main larboard for ships to instrumentality connected caller lipid cargo, prime up supplies oregon commercialized retired crew.

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Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi successful Tehran, Iran, Krutika Pathi successful New Delhi, Stephen Graham successful Berlin, Thomas Adamson successful Paris, and Zeke Miller successful Washington contributed to this report.

The video successful the subordinate supra is from a erstwhile report.