Over 250 flights cancelled between Russia and Middle East

The airspace of ten countries in the Middle East was closed since February 28 and more than 250 flights to and from Russia were canceled during that period, Russia's Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov said.

"The airspace of ten countries in the Middle East is being closed since February 28. More than 250 flights to and from Russia, the greater portion from the UAE, were canceled over that period," Maxim Reshetnikov said.

Organized Russian tourists at the time of the conflict start totaled 23,500 people, including more than 90% in the UAE. The total number of Russian nationals was much higher, the minister added.

The United States and Israel launched a large-scale military operation against Iran on February 28. As a result of the strikes, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several other senior figures in the leadership of the Islamic Republic were killed. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia were also hit.