First UK government chartered flight from Middle East did not take off, reports say
The first flight chartered by the UK government to bring Britons back from the Middle East amid the US-Israeli war on Iran did not take off from Oman on Wednesday, according to reports.
Sky News reported that the flight, due to depart Muscat at 7pm on Wednesday, remained on the ground on Thursday morning.
Some 130,000 Britons have registered their presence in the Middle East and the Foreign Office has said it is working with airlines to bring people home.
But there was no sign of the flight arriving at Heathrow on Thursday morning and it did not appear on flight tracking services or the arrival boards at the London airport.
Early morning arrivals included those from South Africa and Nigeria as planned, but the arrivals area remained quiet.
Commercial flights from the Middle East are due to arrive at Heathrow’s terminal 5 this morning, with one from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, landing just after 6am.
A commercial British Airways flight from Muscat, due to arrive at 6.25 this morning is delayed until 8.13am, according to arrival boards in the terminal.
The Independent has approached the Foreign Office and the British Embassy in Oman for comment.
Dan Haygarth5 March 2026 06:12
Iran denies firing missile towards Turkey, says it respects sovereignty
Iran’s armed forces said they respect Turkey’s sovereignty and denied launching any missiles towards Turkish territory, according to a statement.
It comes after Turkey’s defence ministry said on Wednesday that a ballistic missile fired from Iran towards Turkish airspace, after passing through Syria and Iraq, was destroyed by Nato air and missile defence systems over the eastern Mediterranean.
Shweta Sharma5 March 2026 05:57
Iran and Israel envoys trade accusations in Seoul
The ambassadors of Iran and Israel held separate press conferences in South Korea’s capital on Thursday, trading sharp accusations as the war between their countries continued to escalate in the Middle East.
Speaking through an interpreter, Iran’s ambassador to South Korea, Saeed Koozechi, urged Seoul – a key US ally – to speak out more strongly against what he described as illegal aggression by US and Israeli forces, which he said launched attacks despite ongoing negotiations.
He warned that “many coffins would return to the United States” if Washington decided to deploy ground troops, and defended Iranian strikes on Gulf states hosting US military bases as unavoidable.
Israel’s ambassador to South Korea, Raphael Harpaz, said the joint US–Israeli military operations were aimed at destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities and ballistic missile sites, as well as helping free the Iranian people from oppression.
South Korea has supported US-led diplomatic efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions but has stopped short of endorsing the US–Israeli strikes, instead calling for dialogue to resume quickly.
Shweta Sharma5 March 2026 05:47
Qatar Airways to operate limited relief flights to European cities
Qatar Airways said it will operate a limited number of relief flights from Thursday for stranded passengers departing from Muscat and Riyadh.
The airline said on X that flights are planned from Muscat to Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, London Heathrow, Madrid and Rome, as well as from Riyadh to Frankfurt.
However, the airline’s main operations out of Doha remain temporarily suspended “due to the closure of Qatari airspace”, it said in a statement on X.
“Passengers are kindly requested not to proceed to the airport unless they have received an official notification from Qatar Airways for these flights.”
Shweta Sharma5 March 2026 05:30
Carney doesn’t rule out Canada participating with US
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney who is in Australia has not ruled out Ottawa’s participation in military actions with US but clarified a distinction between offence and defence.
Carney responded to a question whether he would rule out participating in the US military action in Iran, the leader said it couldn’t be ruled out and that Canada would stand by its allies, and always defend Canadians.
“One can never categorically rule out participation. We will stand by our allies, but it makes sense there’s a distinction between the offensive actions that were taken and are being taken by the United States and Israel, that were taken by them without consultation with Canada, with other allies, and we’re not party to those actions, but we will always defend Canadians. We will always stand by and defend our allies when called,” he said standing alongside his Australian counterpart.
Shweta Sharma5 March 2026 05:24
Khamenei funeral postponed amid uncertainty over Iran’s next leader
Plans for the funeral of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, have been thrown into doubt after authorities indefinitely postponed three days of planned farewell ceremonies.
Khamenei was killed on Saturday in an Israeli air strike – the first known assassination of a sitting national leader by such an attack.
His body was expected to lie in state at a major mosque in Tehran from Wednesday evening. However, Iranian officials later announced that the ceremonies had been postponed indefinitely and no funeral date has been set.
Two Iranian sources told Reuters that Mojtaba Khamenei, the slain leader’s son, was not in Tehran when the strike took place.
Iran said the Assembly of Experts – the clerical body responsible for appointing the country’s supreme leader – would soon announce a successor. This will be only the second time the body has chosen a leader since the Islamic Republic was founded in 1979.
Assembly member Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami told state television that potential candidates had already been identified but did not name them.
Israel has said it would pursue whoever is selected as the next leader. Possible contenders reportedly include Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the Islamic Republic’s founder and a figure associated with Iran’s reformist camp.
Shweta Sharma5 March 2026 05:15
What Israel’s Netanyahu said to Trump during secret phone call that led to Iran strikes
What Israel’s Netanyahu said to Trump during secret phone call that led to Iran strikes
Shweta Sharma5 March 2026 05:00
UK says Shahed-like drone that hit Cyprus base not launched from Iran
The British defence ministry has said that the Shahed-like drone that targeted RAF Cyprus at midnight on 2 March was not Iranian.
A drone crashed inside the British Royal Air Force base late Sunday, sparking suspicion that it was a Iranian drone.
They would not specify where the drone which struck Akrotiri had come from, but said assessments showed it was a Shahed type and had not been launched from Iran.
In the early hours of Monday, sirens rang after an unmanned one-way attack drone crashed into RAF Akrotiri’s runway.
Shweta Sharma5 March 2026 04:54
Iran launches wave of missiles at Israel
Iran has fired a wave of missiles at Israel early on Thursday, sending millions of residents into bomb shelters.
The Israeli military said Iran launched several missiles towards Israel in the early hours of Thursday, though there were no immediate reports of casualties, AFP reported, citing the country’s emergency services.
Three separate alerts were issued over a two-hour period, and AFP reporters said they heard explosions in Jerusalem. The military later said it was safe for residents to leave bomb shelters.
Rocket trails are seen in the sky above Tel Aviv amid a fresh barrage of Iranian missile attacks (AFP via Getty Images)
Shweta Sharma5 March 2026 04:35
First UK repatriation flight from Middle East delayed, report says
A British flight scheduled to repatriate UK nationals following the outbreak of war in the Middle East did not depart Oman as planned on Wednesday night and has been rescheduled for later on Thursday, Sky News reported.
Britain’s Foreign Office did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.
The flight was due to leave Muscat at 1900 GMT on Wednesday. It was open to British nationals and their spouses or partners and children, with priority given to the most vulnerable, the Foreign Office said earlier.
“We have been told the plane will take off later today once the pilot has rested,” Sky News quoted an unnamed passenger due to travel on the flight as saying.
The passenger said travellers were informed that delays during check-in meant the pilot had exceeded permitted flying hours and was required to rest.
Hundreds of thousands of Europeans have been stranded across Gulf states since Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran on Saturday, prompting retaliatory attacks by Tehran. Those affected include holidaymakers, transit passengers and residents based in the region.
British Airways, which has suspended flights from Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Amman and Tel Aviv, said it would operate a separate flight from Oman in the early hours of Thursday local time.
Shweta Sharma5 March 2026 04:23
