Middle East Air Travel Severely Disrupted

[PeterRS]

Trump's forces' assassination of the Supreme Leader of Iran will, I believe, be welcomed by many millions in Iran. They knew he was a tyrant and very corrupt to boot. But Iran or its proxies have started to retaliate. Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman have been the target of drone and other attacks at airports and elsewhere. One man has been killed at Dubai Airport which has since been closed to air traffic. Emirates has cancelled all flights until 3:00 pm UK time. As of 50 minuutes ago, there was still no notification as to when the airport will reopen. Emirates will then determine if any can flights can continue depending on the status of the airport. British Airways has cancelled several flights to the region.

With many visitors to Thailand and Asia changing aircraft at Middle East airports, the advice is check with your airline if your flight is likely to take off or has been cancelled.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cn5ge95q6y7t

[forrestreid]

This could impact on flights transiting through the Gulf for a while. I see the well known Youtuber GabrielTraveler was caught out and is now stuck in Qatar:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krw66qLUoD0

 

[mauRICE]

1 hour ago, PeterRS said:

Trump's forces' assassination of the Supreme Leader of Iran will, I believe, be welcomed by many millions in Iran. They knew he was a tyrant and very corrupt to boot. 

No. Here are some of the most recent pictures of Iranians in Teheran and Isfahan coming out to mourn the murder of the Ayatollah, the Imam Khameini, in contrast to the fake clips produced by the Zionist-Trump propaganda machine of a few Middle Eastern-looking men and women coming out on the streets to celebrate "Iran's" so-called freedom. These are a proud, strong, intelligent people who have roots in the land and a civilisation dating back to 4000-3000 BC, not some white imports from Europe claiming some kind of mythical ownership in the last 75 years.

Moreover, Israel uses it's biggest proxy, the US, to fight her wars on her behalf. Most of Iran's retaliatory actions have been against American bases in the region. Meanwhile it has been reported that Israel dropped bombs on a school in Iran, instantly killing at least 85 people, most of whom were women and schoolgirls. Typical, isn't it, they always kill the children first. And if you want to talk about tyranny and corruption, why not start with Trump and his master and butt buddy Netanyahu.

[caeron]

 

Trump is corrupt. That doesn't make the 'supreme leader' any less of a monster.

Thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of protesters have been murdered by the regime.

Not that bombing will help. A new 'supreme leader' will arise in time and the cycle will repeat.

 

[mauRICE]

55 minutes ago, caeron said:

Not that bombing will help. A new 'supreme leader' will arise in time...

I hope a Iran will have a strong leader who will pull the country together and stand up against the US and the genocidal Israeli regime and their illegal acts of aggression.

[PeterRS]

I do not know who is in those photos - and I do not rule out that they are photoshopped or dredged up from previous national outpourings of joy. Have you actually spokne to any Iranians. Having spent two weeks in Iran only a few years ago, everyone I spoke to hated - absolutely hated - the leadership. Everyone knew they were massively corrupt - as you could tell from the up-market expensive housing in part of Teheran reserved for senior leaders, their acolytes and the Iranian Guard. You can certainly start with the evils perpetrated by Trump and Netanyahu if you wish, but do not confuse Iran with the USA and Israel. There will be rejoicing in many milions of households even though they may not be able yet to show it. I agree entirely about iran being a long-established and massively proud nation. But once the loathed Iranian Revolutionary Guard is out of the way - assuming that actually happens - then you will see real rejoicing.

[caeron]

 

If you're a fan of the Islamic regime in Iran, you are really in the wrong place here. You can get the death penalty there for gay sex.

[dellboy]

1 minute ago, caeron said:

 

If you're a fan of the Islamic regime in Iran, you are really in the wrong place here. You can get the death penalty there for gay sex.

that was worth saying a second time !!!!

[PeterRS]

25 minutes ago, caeron said:

If you're a fan of the Islamic regime in Iran, you are really in the wrong place here. You can get the death penalty there for gay sex.

That is highly unlikely. My guide for two weeks had a hooker in every city we visited. He said that anything is possible in Iran as long as you are discrete about it. The way it was perfectly obvious that sanctions were being broken seemed to bear that out. To be fair, he personally did not know any gay men but he said there were quite a number known to his friends.

In addition to being a nation of people intensely proud of their history and culture, I think we should also remember that people in Iran have no love for America. They cannot forgive the USA for the way it joined forces with the British to get rid of the duly elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953 and replace him with the undemocratic Shah. They then hated the USA for the way it assisted the Shah in his reign of terror with massive aounts of arms and cash, one reason for their welcoming Khomeini back in his place. And they then hated the USA for explicitly siding with Saddam Hussein in the vicious 8-year Iraq/Iran war when iraq used chemical weapons.

One subject I did not bring up when I spoke to ordinary Iranians was Israel and therefore have no contribution on that matter. 

[mauRICE]

1 hour ago, PeterRS said:

I do not know who is in those photos - and I do not rule out that they are photoshopped or dredged up from previous national outpourings of joy. Have you actually spokne to any Iranians. Having spent two weeks in Iran only a few years ago, everyone I spoke to hated - absolutely hated - the leadership. Everyone knew they were massively corrupt - as you could tell from the up-market expensive housing in part of Teheran reserved for senior leaders, their acolytes and the Iranian Guard. You can certainly start with the evils perpetrated by Trump and Netanyahu if you wish, but do not confuse Iran with the USA and Israel. 

Ohh no, I would never confuse Iran with the US or the genocidal Israeli regime. I think they are far worse. Do we really want to talk about the killing of the native Americans, the treatment of the Black slaves, the killing and brutality towards Blacks and immigrants today, the possibly hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have been murdered or displaced?

I regularly speak to Iranians, currently and consistently, not "a few years ago". Many of the young ones study in my country and live in apartments and houses that I rent out. I often take my tenants and lodgers out for a meal and none of them have vilified their leadership as you have described. Just last week I held an iftar feast for all my tenants at a local hotel, some fifty of them, Muslim and non-Muslim, and most of the Iranian students were worried for their families and friends back home if the US and the genocidal Israeli regime were to attack. None said they they wanted an intervention by the US or its Zionist butt buddy.

My whatsapp has been buzzing non-stop in the last 24 hours as the Iranian students seek a big brother to vent their worries and a shoulder to cry on. I try to do what I can but I've also engaged a mental health counsellor for them at my expense. As it is, quite a few of them are already prone to PTSD as a result of years of sanctions imposed by the US at the behest of the genocidal Israeli regime.

I've also been to Iran several times and stayed in the houses of Iranians who are great friends of mine. A beautiful country - second only to Turkiye in my opinion - and a very hospitable people. Sure, there's some discontentment here and there but none have expressed the absolute hatred of their government as you've described. They feel change, if any, should come from within and in their own time and way.

Incidentally, political and government leaders everywhere tend to live in affluent areas and upmarket housing. Do Thai politicians live in the slums of Klong Toey; do British MPs live in council flats?

I think colonials need to remove their pith helmets and get rid of that misguided and misplaced saviour mentality. It didn't work 200 years ago; it's not going to work now.