Trump's threat to close Venezuela airspace draws global condemnation

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday issued a statement on social media, declaring the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela "to be closed in its entirety", drawing strong condemnation from multiple countries.

Leaders and senior officials from Iran, Cuba and Ecuador denounced the U.S. threat to Venezuela's sovereignty over its airspace.

According to Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Saturday condemned the U.S. statement that Venezuela's airspace and surrounding areas "are considered completely closed," saying it seriously violates international law and poses a threat to global aviation security.

Kanaani said that the U.S. action is part of a series of provocative and illegal measures targeting Venezuela's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla also said on Saturday that the U.S. aggressive act should arouse the firmest opposition from the international community.

He called it a serious threat to international law and a further escalation of military aggression and psychological warfare against the Venezuelan people and government.

Rodriguez warned that the act carries incalculable and unpredictable consequences for the peace, security and stability of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Ecuadorian former President Rafael Correa strongly condemned the U.S. threat on the same day, describing it as direct aggression against a sovereign nation.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced Wednesday it had launched the 89th wave of Operation True Promise 4, carrying out strikes against U.S. and Israeli targets in the region.

The IRGC said in a statement that Iran and various resistance fronts, through coordinated operations, used heavy missiles, attack drones, and rockets to strike U.S. military bases and Israeli targets.

The statement said the operation targeted Israeli military facilities and assembly points in Eilat, Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak, and other locations, and claimed that, according to local sources, it had caused significant Israeli casualties.

The IRGC also stated that it had hit a location in Bahrain housing 80 U.S. troops, and Iranian ballistic missiles struck a U.S. helicopter formation at a base in Kuwait, destroying one helicopter and damaging others.