TEHRAN — Iran is expected to resume passenger flights from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport starting Saturday, with Istanbul and Muscat among the initial destinations.International passenger flights will resume on April 25 after being suspended during the war, Ramin Kashef Azar, CEO of Imam Khomeini Airport City, told the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA).Round-trip flights to Istanbul and Muscat have so far been authorized, he said, adding that permits for additional domestic and international routes will be issued gradually based on demand.“All infrastructure and navigation systems are fully operational, and there are no issues for conducting flights,” he said.During the ceasefire period, the airport remained active for cargo operations, while foreign airlines also moved their aircraft out of it, he added.Meanwhile, Iran’s national carrier Iran Air began restoring domestic passenger services earlier this week, with the first flight on the Tehran-Mashhad route operated on April 22, according to the state news agency IRNA.The airline is scheduled to continue domestic flights on April 25 and 26 as part of a gradual return to normal operations.The resumption of flights comes after air traffic was largely disrupted following the onset of war on Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran, prompting retaliatory strikes by Tehran.The war has been on hold since April 8 under a ceasefire mediated by Pakistan.Washington and Tehran held talks in Pakistan the previous weekend, with efforts underway to arrange a new round of negotiations.US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the ceasefire would remain in place following a request from Pakistan until Iran presents what he described as a “unified proposal.”Iran’s airspace was slammed shut by the US-Israeli war with Iran that began on February 28 and is only slowly being reopened during the ceasefire.Officials announced last week that Mashhad airport, which serves the country’s second city in the far northeast, would reopen on Monday.On Friday, tracking data showed at least two international flights departing the airport, to Turkey and Oman respectively.
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