KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will be rerouting flights between Kuala Lumpur and London to avoid Iranian airspace amid escalating tension in the Middle East.

“We are rerouting and avoiding Iranian airspace,” the national carrier told Bernama.

MAS, Air India, Australian airline Qantas as well as German airline Lufthansa were among the first airlines to reroute flights temporarily due to fears that Iran would strike at Israel.

German Press Agency (dpa) reported that US President Joe Biden said on Friday he expected Iran to launch an attack against Israel “sooner than later”.

ALSO READ: India tells citizens not to travel to Israel and Iran

Biden said he did not want to elaborate on what classified intelligence Washington had about Tehran’s plans, the agency reported.

Iran’s threats towards Israel have increased following an airstrike on the Iranian embassy compound in Syria on April 1 which killed several military generals.

There were reports that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had seized a container ship related to Israel in the Gulf as tensions soar in the region.

As for AirAsia, none of its current routes uses the Iranian airspace.