Iraq denies 72-hour airspace closure, says viral video was old and edited

BAGHDAD — The office of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, Iraq’s commander-in-chief, on Saturday denied social media reports that the country’s airspace would close for 72 hours, saying flights were running normally and no closure had been ordered.

Lt. Gen. Saad Maan, head of the Public Relations and Government Communication Authority at the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, said in a statement that Iraqi airspace remained open and air traffic was moving as usual.

The claims came with an old video that had been edited and taken out of its original context, Maan said. He did not identify the footage, say when it was filmed or explain how it had been changed.

Maan urged social media users to check information before sharing it and not to circulate clipped or edited videos. He told the public to rely on official sources for news about flights and airspace restrictions.

Maan earlier headed the Security Media Cell, which speaks for Iraq’s security forces. He has said the cell was renamed and placed under the commander-in-chief’s office.

Similar claims have spread before. In August, the Iraqi fact-checking organization Tech 4 Peace found that a video of television presenter Sadiq al-Shammari, shared as a new announcement that Iraqi airspace had closed, dated from March 10, when the airspace was shut during the regional war. It found no official announcement supporting the claim. Maan did not say whether Saturday’s posts used the same footage.

The denial follows a similar one on Nov. 6, when the Security Media Cell rejected reports of a nationwide closure linked to fears of a U.S.-Iran military confrontation. The cell said only a very limited area of airspace had been set aside for the Air Defense Command’s annual firing exercise and that civilian flights were continuing.

Those reports followed a notice to airmen that required aircraft on certain Iraqi air corridors, and those flying to Baghdad, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Kirkuk airports, to follow designated flight paths during military activity from Nov. 7 to 11. The notice did not close any airport or suspend commercial flights.

Regional fighting has shut Iraq’s airspace before. Iraq closed its airspace on Feb. 28, when the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began, and reopened it April 8 after a ceasefire. It closed again June 7, when Iran fired missiles at Israel, and reopened the next day.