Iran protests latest: Airspace closed along with UK embassy in Tehran as US escalates attack threats – UK Times

Oil prices retreated from multi-month highs on Thursday and safe-haven gold ​eased back from a record peak after U.S. President Donald Trump calmed market anxiety about potential U.S. military ‌action against Iran.

A selloff in tech stocks extended into Asian trading, after further declines on Wall Street as investors rotated out of high-flying chip- and artificial intelligence-related names, looking for bargains in other parts of the market.

Trump said on Wednesday afternoon that he had been told that ‍killings in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests were subsiding and he believed there was currently no plan for large-scale executions.

The UK ambassador to Iran and all his staff have been evacuated from from the embassy in Tehran, British officials said Wednesday.

The decision had been taken based on the assessment of the security situation and to prioritize the safety of staff, as the U.S. weighs up launching strikes on Iran, according to Politico.

“We have temporarily closed the British Embassy in Tehran, this will now operate remotely. Foreign Office travel advice has now been updated to reflect this consular change,” a UK government spokesperson said.

Speaking to the Reuters news agency in a new interview, US President Donald Trump said it was possible the government in Tehran could fall due to the protests, but added that “any regime can fail.”

“Whether or not it falls or not, it’s going to be an interesting period of time,” he said.

Some domestic flights in Iran have appeared to be resuming, shortly after the nation’s airspace was closed to all flights except those with prior permission.

“With the NOTAM [notice to airman] closing Iranian airspace expired, some flights are now making their way toward Tehran,” flight tracker website Flightradar24 said on X.

Several commercial flights were airborne Thursday morning local time, and heading towards airports in Tehran, the data showed.

It comes after US President Donald Trump said he has been told that the killing of protesters in Iran had been stopped.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi “seems very nice” but expressed uncertainty over whether Pahlavi would be able to muster support within Iran to eventually take over.

“He seems very nice, but I don’t know how he’d play within his own country,” Trump told Reuters. “And we really aren’t up to that point yet.”

The president added: “I don’t know whether or not his country would accept his leadership, and certainly if they would, that would be fine with me.”

Trump’s comments went further in questioning Pahlavi’s ability to lead Iran after saying last week that he had no plans to meet with him.

Exiled Crown Prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, said the Iranian people are “so close” to victory as he thanked the US for its support.

“Thank you so much for all your words of support for my compatriots in the darkest time in our history,” Pahlvi said, following a meeting with US Senator Lindsey Graham Wednesday.

“But hopefully, as we say in Iran, in Farsi, the end of the dark night is light, and this is probably the first time we have our so close to victory.”

He added: “To witness the resilience of my compatriots… They are fighting a great fight, and any solidarity can only help them achieve that goal sooner.”

“I believe with all my heart, that help is on the way,” Graham said while sitting next to Pahlavi in a video shared online.

US President Donald Trump has threatened strikes over the regime’s brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.

An Iranian American woman has warned of a total blackout in Tehran.

The woman, who now lives in the US after fleeing the Iranian regime, told News Nation White House Correspondent Kellie Meyer that her brother is still in Tehran and she is not able to contact him.

“It’s not looking good at all,” she told Meyer.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a call Wednesday with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani that Pakistan would continue to play a positive role in maintaining regional peace and stability, a statement from Sharif’s office said.

The two leaders discussed recent developments in the Middle East and expressed satisfaction with the current trajectory of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Qatar, according to the statement.

Sharif praised Qatar’s role in promoting peace, dialogue and mediation in the region and acknowledged its efforts to defuse tensions through diplomatic means.

Both leaders agreed to remain in close contact in the coming days, the statement said.

France’s foreign minister has raised the possibility of Paris sending Eutelsat satellite terminals to Iran, where millions of people are living under internet blackout as the Tehran regime looks to suppress ongoing protests.

“We are exploring all options, and the one you have mentioned is among them,” Jean-Noel Barrot told lawmakers in parliament responding to a question about sending Eutelsat terminals to Iran.