Singapore Airlines cancels Dubai flights amid rising Middle East conflict; Iran's next move – missiles, Hormuz or nuclear brinkmanship?: Singapore live news

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has suspended flights to and from Dubai after US strikes on Iran triggered fresh security concerns. The cancellations come after a security assessment of escalating regional risks. More SIA flights could be impacted as the situation evolves. FlightRadar24 shows airlines steering clear of airspace over Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Israel, taking longer – and more expensive – routes around the conflict zone.
The move mirrors similar decisions by British Airways, Air France, and US carriers, which are bracing for fuel hikes and volatile conditions. With oil prices rising and tensions unresolved, airlines worldwide are entering turbulence – both literally and financially. More on the flight chaos that hit SIA and other airlines here.
Iran is standing at a crossroads after US airstrikes targeted its key nuclear sites in coordination with Israel. With threats flying and missiles already launched toward Israel, Tehran is reportedly weighing a wide range of retaliatory options – from closing the vital Strait of Hormuz to activating regional proxies like the Houthis. The stakes are high as oil markets, US troops, and Middle East stability all hang in the balance. Iran's next move could redraw the regional order. More on how Iran could respond to the bombings of its nuclear facilities here.
Read more in our live blog below, including the latest local and international news and updates.
Iran is calculating its next move after US and Israeli forces bombed key nuclear facilities, an escalation that shattered years of strategic ambiguity. Now, Tehran is openly weighing options – from missile salvos to shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global oil – after saying diplomacy is no longer an option while issuing a warning of "everlasting consequence".
Tensions have surged across the region. Parliament in Tehran has voted to consider sealing the Strait, which handles nearly 20 per cent of the world's oil supply. While experts warn this could backfire economically, even the threat has rattled markets and drawn warnings from Washington.
Military retaliation is also on the table. Iran's arsenal of ballistic missiles and drones could target US bases in the Gulf, while its proxy allies – like Yemen's Houthis and militias in Iraq – stand ready to strike with plausible deniability. The recent launch of Iran's "Khaybar" missile underscores its offensive capability.
Beyond direct attacks, Iran may also pull the nuclear card. Analysts fear Tehran could abandon the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and fast-track uranium enrichment, a scenario that echoes North Korea's nuclear pivot in the 2000s.
What comes next could reshape not just the Middle East, but energy markets and global security architecture. Tehran holds powerful cards – whether it plays them depends on how far the US is willing to go.
Read on how Iran may respond to the attacks on its key nuclear sites here.
With just over six months to go, more than 70 per cent of Singaporeans eligible for the one-off $500 SkillsFuture credit top-up still haven't used it. Issued in 2020 to encourage upskilling during the pandemic, the credit expires on 31 December 2025 – with no plans for extension.
Despite rising demand for courses in AI, cybersecurity, and digital marketing, only 28 per cent have tapped into the credit. That leaves roughly 1.8 million Singaporeans at risk of missing out on free career development funds.
SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) is now intensifying its outreach – rolling out reminder emails, promoting its Careers and Skills Passport, and offering free advisory services. But with the deadline fast approaching, the agency says the onus is on individuals to act.
Notably, Singaporeans aged 40 and above now receive an additional $4,000 mid-career credit, but this is separate from the $500 top-up at risk of expiry. To qualify, courses must begin and be claimed by the end of 2025.
Read on the expiring SkillsFuture credit here.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has suspended multiple flights to and from Dubai following a security reassessment tied to rising conflict in the Middle East. This move comes after US military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites prompted carriers globally to steer clear of Iranian, Iraqi, and Syrian airspace.
As war risk zones expand, major airlines – including British Airways, Air France, and United Airlines – are also cancelling Gulf-bound flights or diverting around the region, despite increased costs and extended flight times. Flight tracking data shows large portions of regional airspace remain eerily empty.
For Singapore Airlines, the route disruption is significant. Since the closure of Russian skies, Middle East corridors became vital to link Asia with Europe. Now, that lifeline is under threat again. SIA warns that further cancellations are possible as the geopolitical situation remains fluid.
Global air safety groups have flagged heightened risks for US and allied carriers, citing potential retaliatory action from Iran or its proxies. Even as Israel reopens its skies temporarily for rescue operations, the outlook for commercial aviation remains uncertain.
Passengers are urged to check their flight statuses. With airspace tightening and oil prices ticking up, the skies over the Middle East just got a lot more turbulent – for airlines and travellers alike.
Read on how the Middle East chaos grounded key global flights here.
Iran is calculating its next move after US and Israeli forces bombed key nuclear facilities, an escalation that shattered years of strategic ambiguity. Now, Tehran is openly weighing options – from missile salvos to shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global oil – after saying diplomacy is no longer an option while issuing a warning of "everlasting consequence".
Tensions have surged across the region. Parliament in Tehran has voted to consider sealing the Strait, which handles nearly 20 per cent of the world's oil supply. While experts warn this could backfire economically, even the threat has rattled markets and drawn warnings from Washington.
Military retaliation is also on the table. Iran's arsenal of ballistic missiles and drones could target US bases in the Gulf, while its proxy allies – like Yemen's Houthis and militias in Iraq – stand ready to strike with plausible deniability. The recent launch of Iran's "Khaybar" missile underscores its offensive capability.
Beyond direct attacks, Iran may also pull the nuclear card. Analysts fear Tehran could abandon the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and fast-track uranium enrichment, a scenario that echoes North Korea's nuclear pivot in the 2000s.
What comes next could reshape not just the Middle East, but energy markets and global security architecture. Tehran holds powerful cards – whether it plays them depends on how far the US is willing to go.
Read on how Iran may respond to the attacks on its key nuclear sites here.
With just over six months to go, more than 70 per cent of Singaporeans eligible for the one-off $500 SkillsFuture credit top-up still haven't used it. Issued in 2020 to encourage upskilling during the pandemic, the credit expires on 31 December 2025 – with no plans for extension.
Despite rising demand for courses in AI, cybersecurity, and digital marketing, only 28 per cent have tapped into the credit. That leaves roughly 1.8 million Singaporeans at risk of missing out on free career development funds.
SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) is now intensifying its outreach – rolling out reminder emails, promoting its Careers and Skills Passport, and offering free advisory services. But with the deadline fast approaching, the agency says the onus is on individuals to act.
Notably, Singaporeans aged 40 and above now receive an additional $4,000 mid-career credit, but this is separate from the $500 top-up at risk of expiry. To qualify, courses must begin and be claimed by the end of 2025.
Read on the expiring SkillsFuture credit here.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has suspended multiple flights to and from Dubai following a security reassessment tied to rising conflict in the Middle East. This move comes after US military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites prompted carriers globally to steer clear of Iranian, Iraqi, and Syrian airspace.
As war risk zones expand, major airlines – including British Airways, Air France, and United Airlines – are also cancelling Gulf-bound flights or diverting around the region, despite increased costs and extended flight times. Flight tracking data shows large portions of regional airspace remain eerily empty.
For Singapore Airlines, the route disruption is significant. Since the closure of Russian skies, Middle East corridors became vital to link Asia with Europe. Now, that lifeline is under threat again. SIA warns that further cancellations are possible as the geopolitical situation remains fluid.
Global air safety groups have flagged heightened risks for US and allied carriers, citing potential retaliatory action from Iran or its proxies. Even as Israel reopens its skies temporarily for rescue operations, the outlook for commercial aviation remains uncertain.
Passengers are urged to check their flight statuses. With airspace tightening and oil prices ticking up, the skies over the Middle East just got a lot more turbulent – for airlines and travellers alike.
Read on how the Middle East chaos grounded key global flights here.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Yahoo

21 minutes ago

• Yahoo

Critics Point Out Glaring Contradiction In Trump's Iran ‘Regime Change' Post

President Donald Trump sparked incredulity on social media Sunday — including from Republicans ― after appearing to call for regime change in Iran. In a post on his Truth Social platform, the president wrote: 'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!' The post stunned critics, especially given that top Trump administration officials — including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — had earlier dismissed the idea of ousting Iran's leaders. Instead, they had spun U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear sites as aimed at solely stopping the development of nukes. Conservative attorney George Conway, a vocal critic of Trump, sarcastically summed it up: 'Pretending to be an ignorant and impulsive sociopath by appearing to make shit up as he goes along is just @realDonaldTrump's way of playing 7,822-dimensional chess.' Pretending to be an ignorant and impulsive sociopath by appearing to make shit up as he goes along is just @realDonaldTrump's way of playing 7,822-dimensional chess — George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 (@gtconway3d) June 22, 2025 I swear it was just like 8 hours ago when Pete Hegseth said "This mission was not and has not been about regime change," to reporters at the Pentagon. That's weird. — Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) June 22, 2025 And less than 24 hours ago, Sec. of Defense Pete "Jaeger Bomb" Hegseth specifically stated it was not about regime change. — Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) June 22, 2025 Miga Taco anyone? — Mike Palmer, CFP® (@dfa_advisor) June 23, 2025 Just wondering if my MAGA friends have to change the color of their hats now that Trump is all about Making Iran Great Again. You know he has that Trump Tower Tehran in his head - lots of great business opportunities for Trump Org from a Trump-installed regime! — Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) June 22, 2025 You cannot believe a thing any of them ever say. — Blowhard (@AmeetSampat) June 23, 2025 In other words,no one knows what they are doing — Erica Murdoch (@ericamurdoch) June 22, 2025 VANCE: "Our view has been very clear that we don't want a regime change."HEGSETH: "This mission was not and has not been about regime change."RUBIO: Regime change is "certainly not the goal of what we're working on here."TRUMP: — Megan Cassella (@mmcassella) June 22, 2025 It's like a tariff negotiation but with bunker busting bombs and nuclear holocaust instead of maple syrup. — Mike Madrid (@madrid_mike) June 22, 2025 Kayleigh McEnany's 'Every Dictator' Take On Trump Iran Strike Draws Online Fire CNN Panel Recoils At Conservative Guest's Comment To Friend's Undocumented Wife U.S. Soccer Star Dishes On 'Weird' Oval Office Moment With Trump

News24

23 minutes ago

• News24

‘Why wouldn't there be a regime change?‘ Trump raises Iran government collapse after strikes

Israel and Iran resumed their war on Monday. Iran has yet to respond to US strikes on its nuclear facilities. US President Donald Trump raised the idea of regime change in Iran. Iran and Israel traded air and missile strikes as the world braced on Monday for Tehran's response to the US attack on its nuclear sites and US President Donald Trump raised the idea of regime change in the Islamic republic. Iran vowed to defend itself on Sunday, a day after the US joined Israel in the biggest Western military action against the country since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, despite calls for restraint and a return to diplomacy from around the world. Commercial satellite imagery indicated the US attack on Saturday on Iran's subterranean Fordow nuclear plant severely damaged or destroyed the deeply buried site and the uranium-enriching centrifuges it housed, but the status of the site remained unconfirmed, experts said. In his latest social media comments on the US strikes, Trump said: 'Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran.' 'The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!' he wrote on his Truth Social platform. Trump earlier called on Iran to forgo any retaliation and said the government 'must now make peace' or 'future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier'. The US launched 75 precision-guided munitions including bunker-buster bombs and more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles against three Iranian nuclear sites, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, told reporters. The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said no increases in off-site radiation levels had been reported after the US strikes. Rafael Grossi, the agency's director general, told CNN that it was not yet possible to assess the damage done underground. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordow had been moved elsewhere before the attack. Reuters could not immediately corroborate the claim. Tehran, which denies its nuclear programme is for anything other than peaceful purposes, sent a volley of missiles at Israel in the aftermath of the US attack, wounding scores of people and destroying buildings in Tel Aviv. But it had not acted on its main threats of retaliation, to target US bases or choke off the global oil shipments that pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Attempting to strangle the strait could send global oil prices skyrocketing, derail the world economy and invite conflict with the US Navy's massive Fifth Fleet based in the Gulf. Oil prices jumped on Monday to their highest since January. Brent crude futures were up $1.52 or 1.97% to $78.53 a barrel as of 05:03 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude advanced $1.51 or 2.04% to $75.35. Iran's parliament has approved a move to close the strait, which Iran shares with Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Iran's Press TV said any such move would require approval from the Supreme National Security Council, a body led by an appointee of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Caine said the US military had increased protection of troops in the region, including in Iraq and Syria. The US State Department issued a security alert for all US citizens abroad, calling on them to 'exercise increased caution'. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on China to encourage Iran to not shut down the strait, telling Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo show it would be a 'terrible mistake'. 'It's economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that, but other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries' economies a lot worse than ours,' he said. The Israeli military said on Monday about 20 jets had conducted a wave of strikes against military targets in western Iran and Tehran overnight. ⁠ In Kermanshah, in western Iran, missile and radar infrastructure was targeted, and in Tehran a surface-to-air missile launcher was struck, it said. A missile launched from Iran in the early hours of Monday was intercepted by Israeli defences, it said. Air raid sirens blared overnight in Tel Aviv and other parts of central Israel. Iranian news agencies reported air defences were activated in central Tehran districts to counter 'enemy targets', and that Israeli air strikes hit Parchin, the location of a military complex southeast of the capital. Israel's state broadcaster reported that an Israeli Hermes drone was shot down in Iranian territory, the fourth to be shot down in the area since the start of the campaign. In a post to the Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump raised the idea of regime change in Iran. 'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change', but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!' he wrote. Trump's post came after officials in his administration, including US Vice President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, stressed they were not working to overthrow Iran's government. Israeli Police/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images Israeli officials, who began the hostilities with a surprise attack on Iran on 13 June, have increasingly spoken of their ambition to topple the hardline Shi'ite Muslim clerical establishment. As Tehran weighed its options, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is expected to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday. The Kremlin has a strategic partnership with Iran, but also close links with Israel. Speaking in Istanbul on Sunday, Araqchi said his country would consider all possible responses and there would be no return to diplomacy until it had retaliated. Russia's foreign ministry condemned the US attacks which it said had undermined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and warned of conflict spreading in the Middle East. The UN Security Council met on Sunday to discuss the US strikes as Russia, China and Pakistan proposed the 15-member body adopt a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council the US bombings in Iran marked a perilous turn in the region and urged a return to negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme. Commercial airlines were weighing how long to suspend Middle East flights after the US struck Iran. The Middle East route has become more important for flights between Europe and Asia but flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed empty space on Sunday over Iran, Iraq, Syria and Israel.

Wall Street Journal

28 minutes ago

• Wall Street Journal

Vance Indicates Iran Still Controls Enriched Uranium Stockpile

Vice President JD Vance signaled Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium is still intact and in Iranian control, a potentially significant problem for closing off Iran's future path to a bomb. Iran has enough near-weapons-grade material for around 10 nuclear weapons. Asked if that enriched uranium stockpile had been destroyed, Vance told ABC's "This Week" program, that "we are going to work in the coming weeks to ensure that we do something with that fuel and that's one of the things that we're going to have conversations with the Iranians about." The stockpile was believed to have been mainly at Isfahan, which houses a conversion facility that turns uranium into the form that can be fed into centrifuges for enrichment.