Overnight, the world was on edge watching for potential signs of a new US military strike on Iran. This sense of anticipation was only heightened when Iran issued a nationwide “NOTAM” – or “notice to all airmen” – for its airspace which lasted nearly five hours.
All flights were banned except ones to and from Tehran which had been issued special permission. This was coupled with online rumors of fighter jets being heard over neighboring Iraqi airspace, but no new attack materialized. Late in the evening, President Trump also made known his reasons for holding off on any new strikes. Iranian officials say Trump informed Iran he does not intend to attack.
Iran’s airspace is again open after yesterday’s closure. pic.twitter.com/6UJtEmJ21H
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) January 15, 2026
As we reported, Trump told his national security team that “he would want any U.S. military action in Iran to deliver a swift and decisive blow to the regime and not spark a sustained war that dragged on for weeks or months.”
“If he does something, he wants it to be definitive,” one of the people familiar with the discussions said.
He had also earlier cited that he’s been told that Iran is not killing anymore people in the streets – which Tehran leaders said were rioting and killing police in some cases. Further Trump said there are no further plans to execute protesters:
US President Donald Trump has welcomed “good news” in Iran after posting a message on social media suggesting an Iranian protester would no longer face the death penalty as earlier reported by various human rights organizations.
Trump wrote that an “Iranian protester will no longer be sentenced to death after President Trump’s warnings”. In response to the report, he added: “This is good news. Hopefully, it will continue.”
Whether the protester in question was really set to be executed is unclear, given the Western MSM sourcing for this and other claims:
The huge death tolls in Iran being splashed all over the media are sourced to an outfit in Fairfax, VA called “Human Rights Activists in Iran” that is overwhelmingly funded by the US government. What is their methodology? Is it credible? Who cares? Just pump the big numbers out pic.twitter.com/9No2e7n1Dw
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) January 12, 2026
Despite Trump indicating there will be no imminent strike on Iran, and with Iranian authorities now saying the streets are calm and police and security services are in complete control again, there’s still concern that this is a ploy by the administration.
Security has been heavy on Iran’s streets in the last 48 hours:
“There is big military presence on the streets of the capital and elsewhere,” the resident said, describing widespread checkpoints, police stops and the presence of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
After all, just prior to the start of the June war, the Iranians were lulled into thinking that they were entering new good-faith negotiations with Washington, and then suddenly a surprise Israeli-US attack ensued and their nuclear facilities were taken out.
As for regional airspace, commercial aviation (out of Europe) is still not taking any chances, even though airspace over the Islamic Republic has reopened:
European airlines are continuing to avoid flying over Iran, despite Tehran having reopened its airspace following an earlier closure of nearly five hours, according to reports.
Airlines were also avoiding flying over neighboring Iraq, Reuters news agency reported, citing information on flight tracking websites.
British Airways, Wizz Air, Lufthansa and TUI were among the airlines flying alternative routes in a bid to mitigate risks in the region, amid fears of potential US military action against Iran.
“We avoid Iraqi and Iranian airspaces, therefore some westbound flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports will have to make [refuelling and crew change] stops in Larnaca, Cyprus or Thessaloniki, Greece,” a Wizz Air spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Trump has long proven his ability to catch the world, and Washington’s rivals and enemies, by shock and surprise – so it’s still anyone’s guess what might happen in the coming days and weeks.
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