Fact Check: Is Laura Loomer's claim Iran is responsible for US flight disruptions true?
WASHINGTON, DC: As airports across the United States faced major disruptions after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded flights, conservative commentator Laura Loomer suggested Iran is responsible for it and called for President Donald Trump to act on it. The claim has triggered mockery and speculation, prompting a fact-check.
Claim: Laura Loomer suggests Iran is responsible for flight disruptions
Amid the flight disruption, Trump ally Laura Loomer took to X, stating, “Iranian accounts are now tweeting, suggesting they are responsible for the ground stop in the US today. Time for President Trump to finish the Iranian regime.”
Loomer’s post was a reply to a tweet from an account called ‘Iran Military Media,’ which posted two emojis of a flight and a cross mark, allegedly indicating the flight crisis in the US.
Loomer’s post has garnered more than a million views as of this writing, triggering mockery and criticism from online users, while a few others appeared to agree with her.
Fact Check: No credible evidence to support the claim
The claim, however, is false, as there is no evidence suggesting Iran is responsible for the flight disruptions.
The tweet reported by Loomer is not from a verified account, and there are no official statements, announcements, or social media posts from the Islamic Republic or the IRGC media claiming responsibility for the flight crisis in the US.
There is also no confirmation from the FBI, DHS, FAA, or other US authorities about Iran’s involvement.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin clarified, stating, “This isn’t another 9/11. This is a telecommunications outage."
If the claim were true, credible national and international media outlets would have widely covered it, making headlines. A Google search for the claim also yielded no such media reports.
FAA ground stop disrupts nationwide air travel
On Friday, November 13, airports across the nation faced major disruptions after the FAA grounded flights following communications problems at 22 regional air traffic control centers, affecting thousands of passengers, with at least 600 flights diverted.
FAA described the ground stop as "extraordinary circumstances" and safety concerns.
According to its notice, FAA imposed the restrictions "due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety."
The ground stop marked a major disruption in air travel since January 2023 due to a computer system malfunction, which was the second such nationwide grounding since the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
