Washington, June 21 (TIWN) The US has barred the commercial airlines of the country from flying over the Iran-controlled airspace amid heightened military activities and political tensions in the region.

The downing of the unarmed Global Hawk aircraft, which can fly at up to 60,000 ft (18,300 m), was the latest of a series of incidents in the Gulf region, a critical artery for global oil supplies, that included explosive strikes on six oil tankers.  In a separate advisory to operators, FAA said according to flight tracking applications, the nearest civil aircraft was operating within around 45 nautical miles of a U.S. Global Hawk drone when it was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-aire missile this week. 

“There were numerous civil aviation aircraft operating in the area at the time of the intercept,” FAA said.  The agency said it remained concerned about the escalation of tension and military activity within close proximity to high volume civil aircraft routes as well as Iran’s willingness to use long-range missiles in international airspace with little or no warning.