
Sources said Air India flights to Europe took long routes to avoid Iranian airspace.
Air India flights will avoid Iranian airspace amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, sources said today, as warnings were raised in response to an Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy.
A London-bound Air India flight took a long route to avoid Iranian airspace this morning, sources said.
Sources said that flights may now take two more hours to reach their destination.
The ‘shadow war’ between the two Middle Eastern countries heated up when an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus earlier this month killed seven people, including two generals.
U.S. and other intelligence assessments said retaliation could come as early as Sunday. A rare attack could trigger an all-out regional war.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned earlier this week that Israel “must be punished and will be punished”, days after one of his advisers said the Israeli embassy was “now safe”. Are not.
The Israeli military said it had not issued fresh instructions to civilians, but its forces were on high alert and prepared for various scenarios.
Countries including India, France and Russia have warned their citizens against traveling to the region, which is already in its seventh month of war in Gaza.
Because Iran considers an attack on the embassy an attack on its own soil, sources say a direct attack on Israeli soil by Iran itself, rather than a proxy in Lebanon such as Hezbollah, was a real possibility.
US President Joe Biden also said he expected Iran to try to attack Israel in the short term and was “ironclad” for Washington’s top regional ally despite diplomatic tensions over Israel’s military conduct in Gaza. “Promised support. “We are dedicated to the defense of Israel, we will support Israel, we will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said.
A defense official said the Pentagon is moving additional assets to the region “to bolster regional deterrence efforts and enhance force protection for U.S. forces.”
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