Turkish Airlines Cancels Istanbul-Tehran Flights on Friday

Turkish Airlines has canceled five of its Friday flights to Tehran, the Iranian capital, which has been shaken by protests over the rising cost of living, according to the Istanbul Airport app.

Five other flights operated by Iranian airlines have also been cancelled, according to the airport app, while seven others remain scheduled, The Caspian Post reports, citing Turkish media.

Turkish authorities have not commented so far on the situation in Iran, where the protests have challenged the authorities under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Iranian government was already battling an economic crisis after years of sanctions and recovering from the June war against Israel.

Rights groups have accused Iranian security forces of opening fire on demonstrators, with the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights saying Thursday that security forces had killed at least 45 protesters, including eight minors, since the demonstrations began

According to the specialist website Flight Radar, a Turkish Airlines plane flying to Shiraz and a Pegasus flight to Mashad turned back from Iranian space on Thursday night.

Türkiye shares a border of around 500 kilometres (300 miles) with Iran, and there are three active land crossings between the two countries.