The United Nations Security Council is due to meet today for a briefing on the situation in Iran, as tensions remain high following weeks of nationwide protests and a violent crackdown by authorities.

 

The meeting comes a day after Iran briefly closed its entire airspace for about five hours overnight, forcing several international airlines to reroute or cancel flights. Iran’s Civil Aviation Authority reopened the airspace early today, with domestic and international services gradually resuming.  

 

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had been told that killings in Iran’s crackdown on protests were easing and that he believed there was no current plan for large-scale executions. After Iran’s foreign minister said Iran had no plan to hang people, Iranian state media today reported that a 26-year-old man arrested during protests in the city of Karaj would not be given the death sentence.

 

Mr Trump has repeatedly warned of possible intervention to support Iranian protesters amid reports of thousands killed in the crackdown. However, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi today called for dialogue and restraint during a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqchi.