WASHINGTON, May 18, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The Federal Aviation Administration
has warned US airlines flying over the Gulf to exercise caution “due to
heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the
region.”
The advisory, which also covers airspace over the Gulf of Oman, comes amid
rising tensions between the US and Iran.
Increased tensions in the region “present an increasing inadvertent risk
to US civil aviation operations due to the potential for miscalculation or
mis-identification, said the FAA advisory released late Thursday.
The regulator also warned that aircraft flying in the area could encounter
“inadvertent GPS interference and communications jamming, which could occur
with little to no warning.”
Washington has deployed an aircraft carrier group and B-52 bombers to the
region against what it claims is an imminent threat from Tehran.
President Donald Trump’s administration has also ordered non-essential
diplomatic staff out of Iraq, citing threats from Iranian-backed Iraqi armed
groups.
The White House however has sent mixed signals in recent days, amid
multiple US media reports of infighting in Trump’s cabinet over how hard to
push Washington’s arch foe.
According to US media reports, Trump’s long-hawkish national security
advisor John Bolton is pushing a hard line on Iran, but others in the
administration are resisting.
The White House and Pentagon have been under pressure to demonstrate the
reason for the huge buildup in forces and heightened rhetoric of the past two
weeks.
US coalition partners in Iraq had suggested earlier this week that the
threat level there had not risen significantly, and members of Congress
demanded to see the information behind the administration’s apparent
preparation for possible conflict.