TEHRAN, Jun. 30 (Sputnik): Iran has opened the airspace in the central and western parts of the country for international transit flights, Iranian Ministry of Roads and Urban Development spokesman Majid Akhavan said on Saturday.

"Following the directive of the Civil Aviation Organization’s coordination committee … in addition to opening the airspace in the eastern part of the country for domestic, international and transit flights through Iran’s skies, the airspace in the central and western parts of the country has been opened exclusively for international transit flights," Akhavan was quoted as saying by the Nour News agency.

The cancellation of domestic and international flights in the northern, southern, and western parts of the country has been extended until 2:00 p.m. on July 28, the media added.

On Wednesday, Iranian authorities partially opened the country's airspace, permitting international and domestic flights in the eastern part of the country.

The situation in the Middle East escalated on June 13, when Israel launched large-scale strikes against Iran, accusing it of implementing a secret military nuclear program. Iran retaliated to Israeli strikes by striking military targets inside Israel. It also denied the military dimension of its nuclear program, a claim supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which said it had no evidence of Tehran's possession of nuclear weapons.

On June 22, the United States struck three Iranian nuclear sites — Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan — prompting Tehran to launch a missile strike on the US's Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Monday. US President Donald Trump said late on Monday that Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire that would, after 24 hours, be an official end to the "12-day war." On Tuesday, Trump said that the ceasefire between Iran and Israel was now in effect, urging the sides not to violate it.

Photo from AP