Egypt has banned its airlines from flying over the Iranian capital Tehran tonight.
“All Egyptian airlines must avoid flights over Tehran,” a safety statement from Cairo’s civil aviation authority said on Wednesday.
Plans for flights over the area are being rejected, it said. The directive will apply from 0100 GMT on Thursday for three hours.
Such a statement from Egypt is “highly unusual,” writes the organization OPS Group, which informs its members about risks and changes in international air traffic.
“It is possible that this is an indication of an Iranian response to Israel, and in turn a potentially large series of airspace disruptions,” the group wrote, referring to a potentially imminent attack that had been speculated about for days.
Earlier this week, Jordan asked all incoming planes to carry an extra 45 minutes of fuel in case of diversions.
An Iranian attack on Israel, as in April, could take place in the skies above Jordan, among other places.
Following the assassination of Hamas’ top leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and the killing of a Hezbollah militia military commander in Lebanon, the risk of a major war in the Middle East has increased significantly.
Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement have announced retaliatory measures against Israel.
