A staff of Ben Gurion International Airport, sits at the arrivals terminal as all flights from and to the airport are indicated cancel, following an overnight Israeli attack on Iran, in Lod near Tel Aviv, Israel June 13, 2025 REUTERS/Tomer Appelbaum Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

Item 1 of 2 A staff of Ben Gurion International Airport, sits at the arrivals terminal as all flights from and to the airport are indicated cancel, following an overnight Israeli attack on Iran, in Lod near Tel Aviv, Israel June 13, 2025 REUTERS/Tomer Appelbaum

Summary

Companies Iran, Iraq and Jordan close airspace and Israel shuts airport after attacks

Thousands of flights affected -Eurocontrol

Israel’s El Al and Israir evacuate planes from Tel Aviv

Airline shares down

El Al, Air France, Delta suspend flights

SEOUL/LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) – Airlines steered clear of much of the Middle East on Friday after Israeli attacks on Iranian sites forced carriers to cancel or divert thousands of flights in the latest upheaval to travel in the region.

Proliferating conflict zones around the world are becoming an increasing burden on airline operations and profitability , and more of a safety concern. Detours add to airlines’ fuel costs and lengthen journey times.

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Israel on Friday said it targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders at the start of what it warned would be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon.

Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport was closed and Israel’s air defence units stood on high alert for possible retaliatory strikes from Iran.

Wizz said it had re-routed flights affected by closed airspace in the region for the next 72 hours. Israeli airlines El Al, Israir (ISRG.TA) , opens new tab and Arkia were moving planes out of the country.

FlightRadar data showed airspace over Iran, Iraq and Jordan was empty, with flights directed towards Saudi Arabia and Egypt instead.

About 1,800 flights to and from Europe had been affected so far on Friday, including approximately 650 cancelled flights, according to Eurocontrol.

With Russian and Ukrainian airspace closed due to war, the Middle East region has become an even more important route for international flights between Europe and Asia.

Many global airlines had already halted flights to and from Tel Aviv after a missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels towards Israel on May 4 landed near the airport.

Iranian airspace has been closed until further notice, according to state media and notices to pilots.

Air India, which flies over Iran on its Europe and North American flights, said several flights were being diverted or returned to their origin, including ones from New York, Vancouver, Chicago and London.

Germany’s Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) , opens new tab said its flights to Tehran have been suspended and that it would avoid Iranian, Iraqi and Israeli airspace for the time being.

Emirates (EMIRA.UL) also cancelled flights to and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iran while Qatar Airways axed flights to Iran, Iraq and Syria.

Iraq early on Friday closed its airspace and suspended all traffic at its airports, Iraqi state media reported.

Eastern Iraq near its border with Iran contains one of the world’s busiest air corridors, with dozens of flights crossing between Europe and the Gulf, many on routes from Asia to Europe, at any one moment.

Jordan, which sits between Israel and Iraq, also closed its airspace several hours after the Israeli campaign began.

Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said it had instructed Russian airlines to stop using the airspace of Iran, Iraq, Israel and Jordan until June 26. It said flights to airports in Iran and Israel were also off limits for civil carriers. FlyDubai has cancelled 22 flights scheduled for June 13-14 to Dubai from 10 Russian airports, Russia’s RIA news agency said, citing Rosaviatsia.

FLIGHT DIVERSIONS

“Traffic is now diverting either south via Egypt and Saudi Arabia, or north via Turkey, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan,” according to Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organisation that shares flight risk information.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East since October 2023 led to commercial aviation sharing the skies with short-notice barrages of drones and missiles across major flight paths – some of which were reportedly close enough to be seen by pilots and passengers.

Six commercial aircraft have been shot down unintentionally and there have been three near misses since 2001, according to aviation risk consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions.

Last year, planes were shot down in Kazakhstan and in Sudan. These incidents followed the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014 and of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 en route from Tehran in 2020.

Reporting by Lisa Barrington in Seoul and Joanna Plucinska in London; Additional reporting by Steven Scheer in Jerusalem, Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt, Alexander Marrow in London; editing by Jamie Freed and Jason Neely

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Tehran, Tel Aviv, and Beirut Join in Airport Closures as Israel-Iran Conflict Strands Thousands of Travelers

The ongoing Israel-Iran conflict has rapidly escalated, resulting in the closure of major airports in Tehran, Tel Aviv, and Beirut, leaving tens of thousands of travelers stranded and disrupting air travel across the globe. The conflict, sparked by Israeli airstrikes on Iranian military targets, including a controversial nuclear facility near Qom, has led to retaliatory missile attacks from Iran. The repercussions of this violence have rippled across the region, severely affecting air travel, particularly through these key Middle Eastern hubs.

With Tehran, Tel Aviv, and Beirut’s international airports closed or severely limited in operations, passengers from various countries are facing immense challenges trying to return home or continue their journeys. The closures have caused widespread flight cancellations, re-routings, and prolonged delays, with many travelers finding themselves without clear options for evacuation or rebooking.

Airport Closures and the Immediate Impact on Travelers

Tehran – Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA):

As hostilities between Israel and Iran intensify, Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA) has suspended all outbound international flights. The closure was prompted by a series of Israeli airstrikes on Iranian sites, including military bases and a key nuclear enrichment facility near the city of Qom. These attacks have triggered retaliatory strikes from Iran, and as a result, Iranian airspace has been partially or fully closed. International travelers stranded in Iran, including pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia, are left with limited options for departure.

Iranian authorities have not provided a timeline for reopening the airport, further complicating the efforts of foreign nationals to return home. The situation has caused significant travel chaos, with stranded passengers scrambling for information and assistance, often without the clear support of airlines or governments.

Tel Aviv – Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV):

Israel’s main international gateway, Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) in Tel Aviv, has been closed indefinitely due to escalating security risks and ongoing military operations. The closure, which affects thousands of international travelers, has left over 50,000 passengers stranded abroad. This includes tourists, business travelers, and returning Israeli citizens who were en route or already outside the country.

The Israeli government has declared that all flights will be diverted to alternative airports, including Larnaca in Cyprus, but with limited capacity. El Al, Israel’s flagship carrier, has canceled all of its scheduled flights until at least June 19, and possibly longer. As a result, many passengers are left uncertain about their travel options, with no clear timeline for resumption of services. The Israeli government is urging citizens abroad to stay in close contact with embassies for updates on evacuation plans, though it is unclear when flights will be fully restored.

Beirut – Rafic Hariri International Airport (BEY):

In Lebanon, Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut remains operational, but the conflict’s proximity and the heightened risk of missile attacks have prompted several international airlines, including Lufthansa, British Airways, and Air France, to suspend or reroute flights to and from Beirut. The ongoing military tensions have made flying to the region increasingly dangerous, and many travelers are seeking alternative routes out of Lebanon.

Passengers planning to travel through Beirut have been advised to check with their airlines for the latest updates on flight statuses. While the airport itself remains open, the closure of airspace over the surrounding regions, including Israel and parts of Syria, has further complicated international flights.

Stranded Travelers Struggle to Find Solutions

For many passengers, the situation in these Middle Eastern airports is an exercise in frustration. Travelers from around the world, including businesspeople, students, and tourists, find themselves stranded in uncertain circumstances. Aimal Hussein, a 55-year-old Afghan businessman who was in Qom, Iran, at the time of the Israeli airstrikes, shared his experience. “Flights, markets, everything is closed, and I am living in the basement of a small hotel,” he said. Many others, such as Indian students caught in the conflict, are also struggling to find ways to escape the area.

The impact of the conflict is felt not only by those directly involved in the region but also by people trying to get to or from neighboring countries. With airspace closures affecting many routes, travel has become increasingly perilous. Numerous flight connections from cities like London, Paris, and New York to destinations across the Middle East have been either canceled or delayed due to the ongoing crisis.

Global Airline Disruptions and Rerouting of Flights

The regional conflict has had far-reaching consequences for airlines operating in the Middle East. Several major carriers, including Lufthansa, Emirates, and Qatar Airways, have canceled or rerouted flights to avoid the conflict zones. These changes have resulted in longer flight durations and significantly higher ticket prices, as airlines are forced to find alternative routes that bypass the affected airspaces.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has issued a statement urging airlines and governments to work together to minimize the disruptions caused by the conflict. The association is calling for a coordinated effort to ensure the safety of travelers and to resume normal air operations as soon as it is feasible. As of now, there is no indication of when airspace restrictions over the region will be lifted, and airlines are still monitoring the security situation before resuming operations.

Travel Advisory Updates from Governments

Governments around the world are responding to the conflict by issuing travel advisories to their citizens. The U.S. Department of State has urged American citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Israel, Lebanon, and Iran due to the heightened security risks. Similarly, the UK Foreign Office has warned against traveling to or through the Middle East, advising British nationals to remain in touch with their embassies for assistance.

In response to the crisis, many countries are working to evacuate their citizens from the conflict zone. Flights to other regional hubs, such as Dubai and Istanbul, have been organized to assist those stranded in the affected airports. However, the situation remains fluid, and travelers are encouraged to exercise caution and remain in close contact with their respective embassies.

The Road Ahead for Regional and International Travel

As the Israel-Iran conflict continues to escalate, the Middle East’s major airports in Tehran, Tel Aviv, and Beirut will remain focal points for international travel disruptions. The closure of these airports has left thousands of travelers stranded, and while some are finding their way to alternative routes, many are still waiting for the situation to stabilize.

Travelers are urged to monitor official government websites and airline communications for the latest updates on the status of their flights. With escalating tensions and a volatile situation in the region, the prospect of immediate resumption of normal operations appears uncertain.

For now, the travel chaos caused by the Israel-Iran conflict serves as a stark reminder of how regional conflicts can have far-reaching consequences on global air travel. Passengers caught in the crossfire must rely on government support, airlines’ flexibility, and hope for a swift resolution of the crisis.

Sources:

Reuters

The Guardian

IATA

Travel.State.Gov

Gov.uk

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‘It was a hellscape’: The challenge of evacuating Los Angeles during wildfires

9 January 2025 Share Save Isabelle Gerretsen and Thomas Germain Share Save

Getty Images (Credit: Getty Images)

LA residents rushing to flee wildfires this week faced choke points, gridlock and the tough decision of whether to abandon their cars to the fire.

What’s thought to be the most destructive fire in Los Angeles’ history is ravaging the city. At the time of writing, more than 180,000 people had fled their homes and 10 people have lost their lives.

But ahead of the smoke, flames and homes left smouldering in ruins, another story has unfolded again and again as the fires have spread – one of evacuation and chaos.

Residents have often been quick to respond to the warnings and evacuation orders issued by the authorities in LA, with some even leaving their homes before they were told to. When they have tried to leave, however, they rarely get very far.

As residents of Pacific Palisades fled their homes on Wednesday, the Pacific Coast Highway, the main road towards Malibu, quickly became gridlocked. Some people abandoned their cars, opting instead to try to escape the blaze on foot. Bulldozers had to clear abandoned vehicles to make way for firefighting crews. One resident told the BBC that he was stuck in a traffic jam for two hours while trying to escape the Palisades fire.

Maryam Zar experienced this bottleneck when she evacuated her home in Pacific Palisades as a wildfire tore through her neighbourhood. “Nobody was moving at all for a good half an hour and I was stuck on a road for 45 minutes,” Zar, former chair of the Pacific Palisades Community Council, tells the BBC. She had to evacuate three times in the space of 24 hours as high winds fuelled the flames and swept the fires through neighbourhoods at alarming speed. “It’s complete devastation. It’s a hellscape.”

Compounding this problem is the layout of the area’s transport network. “There are only two or three roads; two major arteries and one tiny windy little road that gets you out of Palisades,” says Zar. “Our big concern [has] always [been] that the roads will become gridlocked, we’ll be stuck and the fire will chase us down. To some degree, I think people were afraid that was happening yesterday, but the reality is that everybody evacuated.”

Similar chaotic scenes unfolded in Hollywood on Thursday as the flames from the Sunset fire closed in on neighbourhoods there. Many of the roads near the blaze quickly became gridlocked with traffic.

LA is not an easy city to flee in an emergency, experts say. Narrow, winding roads are common in LA’s affluent suburbs and can hinder quick exits, says Chris Nevil, public information officer at MySafe:LA, a non-profit that works to promote fire prevention and disaster readiness in Los Angeles.

“There’s not a lot of ways in and out of the Palisades and that caused tremendous problems. It was a hot mess,” he says. “Many of the roads [in LA] go back to a time before SUVs, when families had one smaller car and not necessarily the behemoths that we all drive around, especially in these relatively affluent hillside areas.”

Despite the risks, these neighbourhoods remain highly popular. “People want to live in these secluded peaceful places where they’re in touch with nature, but that comes with built-in risk,” he adds.

Getty Images Abandoned cars have hindered the ability of firefighters as they have battled with the flames (Credit: Getty Images)

Natalie Enclade, executive director of Buildstrong America, an organisation working to increase resilience across the US, says the road network was put under severe strain by the emergency. “With tens of thousands of residents attempting to flee simultaneously in a hasty evacuation, the major roadways became severely congested. This gridlock significantly slowed the evacuation process, putting more lives at risk.”

But challenges in evacuating cities in California are nothing new, Enclade notes. When the wildfire known as the “Camp Fire” ravaged areas in northern California in 2018, the destruction of infrastructure “decreased communication capacity, hindering evacuation efforts”, she says. During another wildfire the year before, debris blocked the single road that was the only exit for an entire community, she adds.

“The largest factor contributing to these events is insufficient resources,” says Enclade. “Local agencies and resources are quickly overwhelmed by the speed and scale of these megafires.”

The LA County fire chief said on Wednesday that there are not enough firefighters to address fires “of this magnitude”.

Getty Images Abandoned cars and burned debris can further hampered evacuation efforts by blocking LA’s already congested roads (Credit: Getty Images)

LA’s streets are congested on a normal day, but “it really is a different beast when you have everybody trying to flee after an earthquake or a wildfire,” says Geoff Boeing, assistant professor at the University of Southern California’s (USC) urban planning department.

“A lot of the street networks [in LA] have choke points built into them,” says Boeing. There are a variety of reasons for this. “It could be the terrain or the ‘aesthetics of exclusivity’, especially in gated communities where there’s one way in and out,” he says.

A 2024 study by Boeing and his colleagues found that the design of street networks plays an important role in increasing a city’s resilience to disasters.

Boeing’s study simulated more than 2.4 billion trips across 8,000 urban areas in 178 countries, while also simulating disruption events such as floods, earthquakes and targeted attacks. Boeing concluded that street networks with higher connectivity and fewer choke points were less vulnerable during disruption events.

“By better connectivity, we are referring to how many streets there are connected to each intersection. In a late-20th Century American suburb, you’ll see a lot of dead ends, meaning there’s only one street connected to that node, or three-way intersections, where you have to choose which way to go. These all reduce the connectivity of the network and reduce your choices and routing,” says Boeing. “LA can be pretty bad. It’s even worse in places like suburban Phoenix or Las Vegas, where you have a super-block with just one or two entrances.”

The future is in limbo for composer Denis Hannigan. On Wednesday, he was forced to evacuate his residence in Topanga Canyon, a community tucked away in the now-burning hills of the Santa Monica Mountains. Hannigan woke up on Thursday morning to learn the flames now pose a direct threat to his house.

Infrastructure poses a major hurdle to safety for his remote community, with old, narrow roads that barely get the job done even in normal circumstances. “We only have one road in and out, and we’re almost semi-rural, they’re mountain roads. The road in my neighbourhood is only about one and a half lanes. You can’t get two cars by sometimes,” he says. “They’ve already been closing roads to residents only during fire weather to address the kind of cluster that could trap people, which is a new thing after the last three or four fires,” he says.

Getty Images The authorities in LA have prioritised getting people to safety as the flames have closed in (Credit: Getty Images)

And when the threat of fires comes, as it does so often, officials shut off electricity. “Where we live you cannot communicate without power. You end up with thousands of people who can’t get up-to-date information about whether there’s a fire or not,” Hannigan says. “From an urban planning perspective, it all has to be thought out if we’re going to keep people safe, down to the last detail.”

Part of the problem in these areas is the slow but steady pace at which they’re built up, according to Frank Frievalt, director of the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Institute at California Polytechnic State University.

“When you’re building roads, for example, you’re typically designing systems for daily use and engineering in some capacity of peak usage and surges. We know the roads are busier at certain times of day, and you factor that in,” Frievalt says. “But when you have these large areas with incremental development over time, it starts to add up. It’s hard to understand how each addition and construction project affects the larger system.”

That is, until disaster strikes. “With a fast-moving natural catastrophe, it reveals the stresses to the system that you don’t see every day,” he says.

It’s difficult to address the problems of strained infrastructure even when the issues are clear. “You don’t just incrementally put in two more inches on Topanga Canyon Road, for example. You don’t get to keep up with the stresses of development in real time,” Frievalt says. “There’s a logistical and financial time lag. You save up until you can invest in a larger capital development, and often the growth rate outruns your ability to undertake investments.”

According to Frievalt, if history offers any indication, the coming few weeks and months will see the public going through the stages of grief. “With climate change, we’re dealing with the pain of understanding that the future we imagined for ourselves is lost. At the very minimum, we need to have hard discussions about places that we know have the conditions for extremely catastrophic outcomes.” Frievalt says. “Are going to build back to more a resilient but dramatically more expensive standard? Or are we going to say we just can’t allow development there? These are tough decisions, but we have to make them, because this is going to happen again.”

Retrofitting existing infrastructure and roads is difficult to do, says Boeing. “It tends to cost a lot of money.” It can also be easy to disconnect an entire street network by removing a few key nodes that link neighbourhoods together, Boeing concluded in his study. “Even otherwise dense, connected Amsterdam, for example, can be easy to disconnect by targeting its chokepoints, like canal bridges.”

One way to aid evacuation in an emergency is to improve public transport. Research shows that public transport can help evacuate large numbers of people in a short space of time. A 2011 study by researchers at the University of Toronto found that public transport in Toronto could evacuate 1.34 million people within two hours.

“We have a very large bus network in LA. It’s just incredibly inconvenient because those buses have to go in the same traffic as everyone else,” says Boeing. “We don’t have a dedicated bus lane. If we did, a lot of people would switch.”

A 2024 study by researchers at the University of Alberta recommended that evacuation plans following extreme weather events include special bus routes for disasters and free public transport. “Most North American jurisdictions still lack a fundamental understanding of equity-centred needs or evacuation plans that incorporate public transit use,” the researchers said, noting that vulnerable communities, including people with disabilities, older adults and lower-income households, often rely on public transport and lack access to private vehicles.

But Boeing says that even with investment, it may be difficult to encourage some LA residents to rely on public transport. “Driving everywhere in your single occupancy vehicle [offers] privacy, safety, convenience and perception… it’s part of the LA lifestyle.”

As a 40-year resident of Topanga, it’s not Hannigan’s first time facing a fire. “At my age it gets to ‘been there, done that’. Eventually, you reach the point where your house might burn down so many times that you get spiritual about it. It’s just a house,” he says.

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A volcano on a remote Indonesian island continues to spew towering columns of hot ash into the air, making it too dangerous for flights to land or depart from Bali’s international airport.

Travellers have been stranded at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai airport since flight cancellations began at the weekend.

“The airline did not provide accommodation, leaving us stranded at this airport,” said Charlie Austin from Perth, Australia, who was on vacation in Bali with his family.

It is unclear when the ash cloud will clear and allow the airport to resume normal operations.

Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano on the island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara province has been shooting hot ash high into the air since it first erupted on 4 November, killing ten people so far and injuring dozens of others.

The 1,584-meter volcano shot up ash at least 17 times on Tuesday, with the largest column recorded at 9 kilometres high, the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation said in a statement.

Bali flights: Are all departures and arrivals cancelled?

I Gusti Ngurah Rai airport’s website currently shows most international departures for today (Wednesday) as either cancelled or delayed, while a few flights, to destinations such as Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur, do appear to be taking off as scheduled.

The advice to passengers is to contact your airline or check their website or social media channels before leaving for the airport.

Sicne the weekend, 84 flights, including 36 scheduled to depart and 48 due to arrive, were cancelled or delayed.

Airport authorities said that at least 26 domestic flights and 64 overseas ones were cancelled on Wednesday alone, including airlines from Singapore, Hong Kong, Qatar, India and Malaysia. For these cancellations, the airlines were offering travellers a refund, or to reschedule or reroute.

Air New Zealand cancelled a flight to Denpasar scheduled for Wednesday and a return service to Auckland due to depart Bali on Thursday. Passengers would be rebooked and the airline would continue to monitor the movement of ash in the coming days, Chief Operating Officer Alex Marren said.

Jetstar Bali flights: Australian airlines worst hit by cancellations

Australian airlines use Bali’s international airport more than any others, since Bali is a very popular holiday destination with Australians.

Budget airline Jetstar has paused its flights to Bali until at least Thursday, it said on its website, saying it was “currently not safe” to operate the route.

They say they understand that some passengers may no longer wish to fly to Bali, in which case anyone with flights booked between 13 and 17 November have the option to postpone their flight by three weeks or get credit to use with the airline. For full details on your options, check their website.

Jetstar’s statement went on to say:

“We understand that this is a difficult situation for impacted customers. Safety is always our number one priority and we thank customers for their patience and understanding.

Impacted customers will be notified directly and will be provided with a range of options.

Capacity on our existing scheduled services is limited and we understand that some customers may be concerned about how quickly they can rebook their flights.

We continue to monitor the situation closely and are planning to add extra flights to get customers to their destination as soon as possible.

We will provide an update on flights scheduled to operate after 12noon AEDT on Thursday.”

Virgin Australia’s website showed 10 services to and from Bali were cancelled on Wednesday. Qantas said it has delayed three flights. Some airlines are offering fare refunds for upcoming Bali flights to passengers who don’t want to travel.

Are passengers on Bali flights entitled to a refund or compensation?

Rules vary by country or region but EU airlines have to offer a refund or new flight if they cancel your flight. However if the cancellation is due to weather-related events, they sometimes claim this is an “act of God” to get out of paying passengers.

However for this volcano affecting Bali, some airlines have already said they will cover refunds or offer new flights so the chances are quite good.

Travel insurance is designed to cover unforeseen events, such as emergency medical expenses, lost or stolen belongings and last-minute cancellations.

In some cases, you can be reimbursed if your trip is cancelled due to extreme weather – but certain conditions usually apply.

Check your policy for a list of covered reasons for trip cancellation, as these vary by provider. Some may provide add-ons for weather-related circumstances.

Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano: 9 kilometre high ash cloud

Authorities on Tuesday expanded the exclusion zone as the volcano erupted again to 9 kilometres high. Volcanic materials, including smoldering rocks, lava, and hot, thumb-size fragments of gravel and ash, have been thrown up to 8 kilometres from the crater since Friday.

About 6,500 people were evacuated in January after Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki began erupting, spewing thick clouds and forcing the government to close the island’s Fransiskus Xaverius Seda Airport. No casualties or major damage were reported, but the airport has remained closed because of seismic activity.

Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of a pair of stratovolcanoes in the East Flores district of East Nusa Tenggara province, known locally as the husband-and-wife mountains. ‘Laki laki’ means man, while its mate is Lewotobi Perempuan, or woman. It’s one of the 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, an archipelago of 280 million people.

The country is prone to earthquakes, landslides and volcanic activity because it sits along the ‘Ring of Fire’, a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.

US President Donald Trump says Iran must make a deal now over its nuclear program or face even more destructive and deadly military action.

“There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end,” Trump says on his Truth Social platform. “Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire.”

He says Iranians refused to agree to a deal, despite his many warnings of military actions that “would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told.”

“I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to ‘just do it,’ but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done,” he writes.

The president does not indicate the US will join the military action, but says he will continue to arm Israel with weapons to use against Iran.

“Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come – And they know how to use it,” he writes.