German airline Lufthansa announced on Wednesday that it had temporarily halted flights to and from Tehran until likely Thursday amid an escalation of tensions between Iran and Israel.
Citing "the current situation in the Middle East" as the reason, the company emphasized prioritizing passenger and crew safety.
"We are constantly monitoring the situation in the Middle East and are in close contact with the authorities," a Lufthansa spokesperson told Reuters.
This decision comes after a suspected Israeli airstrike on an Iranian embassy compound in Syria on April 1 heightened tensions
Iran said the attack killed seven military advisors.
Reacting to the incident, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared that Israel "must be punished and it shall be."
Earlier, two top Israeli officials warned that Israel would retaliate with strikes inside Iran if the Islamic Republic launched an attack from its territory.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, speaking to troops at an Iron Dome air defense system battery in northern Israel, emphasized that any attack on Israel would be met with a strong defense and a "powerful response in its territory."
"In this war, we are being attacked from more than one front... from different directions. Any enemy that tries to attack us will first of all encounter a strong defense," Gallant stated.
"But we will know how to react very quickly with decisive offensive action against the territory of whoever attacks our territory, no matter where it is, in the entire Middle East," he added, according to the Times of Israel.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz also posted on the social media platform X that "If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will react and attack in Iran."
Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the April 1 attack, but some Israeli officials have stated that the targeted building housed the IRGC Quds Force headquarters and was a "legitimate target."
In response to concerns about Iran's potential retaliatory attack, the Israeli military also ceased granting leaves for combat units on Thursday.
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