Uncertainty looms as more airlines suspend flights to the Middle East

Fears of regional escalation grew on Saturday as more airlines suspended flights to the Middle East. The move followed a warning from Türkiye's foreign minister that Israel is seeking an opening to strike Iran. The atmosphere of uncertainty was compounded by expanded U.S. sanctions targeting Iranian oil and Tehran's accusations that a recent wave of protests was driven by Western-led sabotage.

Air France and Dutch operator KLM canceled flights to destinations in Israel and several Gulf states on Friday night. The two airlines, both owned by holding company Air France-KLM, have followed a decision by Lufthansa Group to suspend regional flights. The German airline had already halted flights over Iraq and Iran earlier in the week.

KLM cited "the geopolitical situation" as the reason for the suspension, according to Dutch broadcaster NOS.

On Friday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in a televised interview that Israel continues to look for an opportunity to attack Iran, despite the risk of further destabilizing the region.

"I hope they find a different path, but the reality is that Israel, in particular, is looking for an opportunity to strike Iran," Fidan told Turkish broadcaster NTV, emphasizing Israel’s intent to attack when asked if this assessment applies to both the U.S. and Israel.

Also on Friday, the U.S. expanded sanctions targeting Iran's petroleum sector, according to a statement from the Treasury Department. The Office of Foreign Assets Control added eight shipping companies and nine vessels allegedly used to transport Iranian oil and petroleum products to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. The move freezes their U.S. assets and prohibits any transactions with U.S. entities.

"Treasury will continue to track the tens of millions of dollars that the regime has stolen and is desperately attempting to wire to banks outside of Iran," U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said.

Meanwhile, Tehran has intensified its criticism of foreign intervention following protests in December and January. Iran's Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned the European Parliament as "meddlesome and irresponsible" after it passed a resolution on Thursday accusing Tehran of violating human rights during the recent protests.

Iran said the resolution contained "false and incorrect" information and questioned the European Parliament’s moral standing to preach human rights, accusing it of supporting "the imposition of cruel sanctions," "blindly following" illegal U.S. embargoes on Iran, and "complicity" with Israel in the June military aggression.

The country's Foreign Ministry added that it would take reciprocal actions in response to any "illegal and interventionist" measures targeting the Iran’s armed and security forces.

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said Friday that the nation-wide protests were part of a failed "U.S.-Israeli plan" to threaten Iran’s territorial and national integrity, claiming that "10 foreign intelligence services" were behind what it called "terrorist incidents.”

According to an official death toll issued by Iranian state television IRIB on Wednesday, the protests that erupted last month resulted in 3,117 deaths, including 2,427 "innocent civilians and security forces." The Iranian government has blamed the U.S. and Israel for the violence and casualties during the nationwide protests.

(With inputs from agencies)