Saudi Arabia flights to avoid Iran airspace

Saudi Arabian Airlines, the flag carrier of the Kingdom, announced this weekend that its aeroplanes flying across the Arabian Gulf will avoid Iranian airspace.

The announcement came in a post by the airline on Twitter, which denied that this change will have a significant impact on departure and arrival dates, according to Sputnik news agency.

On Friday, the US Special Envoy to Iran met with the Saudi National Security Adviser to discuss tensions with Iran. “The Saudis have helped ensure good and stable supplies in the oil market,” the official said, according to Sputnik.

US Envoy Brian Hook added that the sanctions imposed on Iran “deprived the regime of tens of billions of dollars used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard in direct or indirect attacks”.

The US State Department announced on Thursday that “Hook will hold bilateral meetings in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and the Kingdom of Bahrain, and will discuss Iranian aggression in the region, including the recent attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman”.

READ: US prods Iran for talks to ease Gulf tensions; Tehran dismisses sanctions threat