unsaveSave
expand-left
full screen The picture was taken at Iran’s international airport in Tehran. Archive image. Photo: Saeed Kaari/AP/TT
Iran is warning airlines to avoid the country’s airspace for three hours on Thursday, according to Egypt’s civil aviation ministry.
The ministry on Wednesday ordered Egyptian airlines to avoid Iranian airspace the day after a message from Tehran to avoid the airspace due to military exercises.
According to Egypt, the warning came in a message sent by Iran to all commercial airlines.
The warning comes amid heightened tensions in the region since terror-labeled Hamas political leader Ismail Haniya was killed in Iran last week – an act they blame on Israel.
The ban applies for three hours, from 4:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. local time.
The head of Iran’s international airport in Tehran previously denied that a warning had been issued for western airspace, but it is unclear whether it applied to the entire airspace, according to state-run Iranian news agency Isna.
The escalation in the region has caused many international airlines to cancel flights to Lebanon, Iran and Israel.