Iranian authorities have advised civilian airlines to avoid its airspace for three hours on Thursday morning due to “military exercises,” an Egyptian official told Cairo’s Al Qahera TV on Wednesday night.
The report came shortly after Egyptian aviation authorities issued an official Notice to Air Missions, or NOTAM, urging pilots to refrain from overflying Tehran between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. GMT (4 a.m. to 7 a.m., Israel time).
“All Egyptian carriers shall avoid overflying Tehran. … No flight plan will be accepted overflying such territory,” the public NOTAM notice read.
Iran has vowed revenge following the July 31 assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the top “political” leader of Hamas, who died in an explosion at his Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps guesthouse in Tehran. The Iranian regime and Hamas have both accused Israel of killing Haniyeh.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that over the weekend, the United States observed signs that possibly signaled preparations for an attack. According to officials cited in the report, these included the movement of Iran’s missile launchers and various “military exercises.”
Israel has also been awaiting the response by Iran’s terrorist proxies to its killing of top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut on July 30. Shukr was responsible for a recent rocket attack that killed 12 children in the Golan Heights, according to Israel, and was also behind the 1983 bombing that killed more than 300 U.S. and French troops in Beirut.
The Channel 12 News broadcaster cited unnamed officials in Jerusalem as saying on Wednesday night that Israel believes Hezbollah, rather than Iran itself, is planning to launch the first attack “in the coming days.”
Egypt reportedly informed Israel this week that it would not participate in a coalition to defend the Jewish state against the Iran-led assault.
In April, an unprecedented Iranian drone and missile assault on Israel was largely shot down by a military coalition that included the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Cairo notified Tehran earlier this week that it would close its airspace to any military action that might threaten regional security to safeguard Egyptian sovereignty, Qatari outlet Al–Araby Al-Jadeed claimed.
Iran has told Arab nations it is determined to strike Israel even if doing so sparks a regional war, the Journal reported on Sunday.
(JNS)