US troops return to Qatar base; Iran reopens airspace — is America stepping back from Tehran strike?

The United States aircraft that were moved out of Al Udeid in Qatar on Wednesday were gradually returning to the base, Reuters reported. Zelensky's Days Numbered? Putin's 'Ukraine Running Out Of Time' ULTIMATUM As Trump Blames Kyiv It also added that the security warning level at the US Al Udeid air base in Qatar was lowered after a heightened alert triggered on Wednesday, three sources briefed on the situation told Reuters. Reuters reported that some personnel who were advised to leave the base on Wednesday were also permitted to return. This came after Trump said he was told that killings in Iran’s crackdown on protests were easing and that he believed there was no current plan for large-scale executions, adopting a wait-and-see posture after earlier threatening intervention. Earlier, Iran's foreign minister said Iran had "no plan" to hang people, and Iranian state media on Thursday reported that a 26-year-old man arrested during protests in the city of Karaj would not be given the death sentence. Rights organisation Hengaw, which reported earlier this week that Erfan Soltani was due to be executed on Wednesday, said a previously communicated order for his execution was postponed, citing his relatives. In a social media post on Thursday, Trump responded to a news report that an Iranian protester was no longer being sentenced to death, writing: "This is good news. Hopefully, it will continue!" Iran reopens airspace Iran reopened its airspace shortly before 10 p.m. ET, or 0300 GMT, after a near-five-hour closure amid concerns about possible military action between the U.S. and Iran that forced airlines to cancel, reroute or delay some flights. Iran closed its airspace to all flights except international ones to and from Iran with official permission at 5:15 p.m. ET (2215 GMT) on Wednesday, according to a notice on the US Federal Aviation Administration website. The notice was removed shortly before 10 pm ET, or 0300 GMT, according to tracking service Flightradar24, which showed five flights from Iranian carriers Mahan Air, Yazd Airways and AVA Airlines were among the first to resume over the country. At a similar time last week to the airspace closure there had been dozens of planes in the air over Iran, Flightradar24 said. Is US really stepping back from targeting Iran? It is still not clear whether US will not target Iran. There were some reports going on social media suggesting that the US reportedly canceled the strike on Iran at last minute. However returning of aircraft to Qatar bases, lowering alert and Iran reopening its airspace suggest that the dispute between two countries are at ease and possibly, right now, both of them are not going for the war.

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