NAIROBI, Kenya — Iran’s ambassador to Kenya sought to calm fears on Tuesday, saying Nairobi is not at risk of retaliation as Tehran and its adversaries exchange fire across the Middle East and regional airspace closures ripple through airline schedules.
At a press briefing in Nairobi, Iranian Ambassador Dr. Ali Gholampour said Kenya does not host a U.S. military installation of sufficient strategic value to draw Iranian fire. “This country does not provide a US military facility with a magnitude to attack Iran,” he said, adding that Kenya is not in Tehran’s crosshairs.
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Gholampour condemned what he described as Saturday’s attacks by the United States and Israel inside Iran, which Iranian officials say killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures. He framed Iran’s subsequent actions as lawful self-defense and warned Washington and Jerusalem would “bear full responsibility for the aftermath.”
“You have opened a door that you cannot close,” he said, urging the United Nations to intervene to halt the escalation, which he called a violation of international peace and stability.
The ambassador’s remarks came as Iran launched retaliatory strikes and tensions surged across the region. Iranian missiles have been reported in multiple Middle East countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain. Several governments, among them Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Kuwait and the UAE, announced at least partial closures of their skies over the weekend as militaries and civil aviation authorities assessed risks.
Kenyan travelers began feeling the knock-on effects. National carrier Kenya Airways said it had suspended flights to Dubai and Sharjah until further notice, citing the evolving security situation and restricted airspace. The airline advised customers to monitor updates and contact its service channels for rebooking and refunds.
Kenyan leaders urged restraint and renewed diplomacy. President William Ruto condemned missile strikes targeting the Gulf region and said the widening conflict posed a grave threat to international peace and security. He called for urgent engagement to pave the way for de-escalation and underscored the role of multilateral institutions in resolving the crisis.
“At this defining and perilous moment in global history, longstanding multilateral institutions remain indispensable frameworks for the resolution of the current crisis in the Middle East,” Ruto said.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi issued a travel and safety advisory to Kenyan citizens living in or transiting through the Middle East, urging vigilance and adherence to guidance from local authorities and airlines.
In New York, the U.N. Security Council convened an emergency meeting on the fighting. Iran’s envoy accused the United States and Israel of committing a possible war crime by attacking civilians. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned that sustained military action in the Middle East “carries the risk of igniting a chain of events that no one can control,” appealing to all sides to step back from the brink.
With air routes in flux and rhetoric hardening, Kenyan officials stressed that the country faces no immediate threat from the confrontation. Gholampour reiterated that Nairobi is not a target, even as Tehran insists it will respond to what it calls acts of aggression. The situation remained fluid late Tuesday, with governments and carriers across the region adjusting operations to unfolding security assessments.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
