ISTANBUL 

Turkish Airlines has suspended some of its flight operations to Iran until Feb. 27, sources in the company said, as the Gulf country scrambles to contain the coronavirus outbreak. 

The flag carrier has taken a series of measures on trips to neighboring Iran as the death toll from the virus rose to 12 – the highest outside China.

While the airline has canceled its flights to Iranian cities such as Isfahan, Mashhad, Shiraz and Tabriz, it also reduced the number of daily trips to Tehran to two.

Although there are no restrictions on passengers traveling to the Iranian capital, only Turkish passengers are accepted on return flights.

Turkey has also temporarily closed its land borders and train services with the Islamic republic.

Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines continues to evaluate the evolving situation amid the epidemic that emerged last December and has so far claimed nearly 2,600 lives.

About 77,000 people in China, where the virus emerged, have also been infected.

More than 1,200 cases, 47 of them in Iran, have been confirmed in about 30 other countries, and there have been over 20 deaths.

* Writing by Aysu Bicer