Iran resumes commercial flights from Tehran airport for first time since war

Iran resumed flights from Tehran after a two-month halt under a fragile US-backed ceasefire, while diplomatic efforts intensify in Pakistan to sustain talks.

In Short

• Iran resumes commercial flights from Tehran after two months
• Flights to Istanbul, Muscat, and Medina reported by state TV
• Iran's FM in Islamabad for talks with Pakistan's top leaders

Iran has resumed commercial flights from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport on Saturday for the first time since the conflict with the United States and Israel began about two months ago.

State-run television reported that flights departed for Istanbul, Muscat in Oman, and Medina in Saudi Arabia. The move follows a partial reopening of Iran’s airspace earlier this month under a ceasefire with the US that halted active fighting.

The reopening comes as Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held two rounds of meetings with Pakistan’s top military and political leadership after arriving in Islamabad on Friday night. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the Iranian delegation would continue talks with senior leadership as US envoys were expected to arrive in Islamabad on Saturday.

The White House confirmed that Donald Trump would send Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan in a renewed attempt to salvage ceasefire negotiations with Tehran. However, shortly after Araghchi’s arrival, Iran said any engagement with US representatives would remain indirect, with Pakistani officials conveying messages between the two sides.

The latest diplomatic push follows an indefinite ceasefire that has paused most fighting but left economic disruptions in place, particularly affecting global energy shipments due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistan has been working to bring Washington and Tehran back to the negotiating table after Trump announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire earlier this week, responding to Islamabad’s request for more time for diplomacy.

Araghchi and the US envoys previously held hours of indirect talks in Geneva on February 27 over Iran’s nuclear program but failed to reach an agreement. The following day, Israel and the United States launched military action against Iran.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had decided to send Witkoff and Kushner to Pakistan “to hear the Iranians out,” adding that Washington had seen “some progress from the Iranian side” in recent days, without providing further details.

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