Airlines have been rerouting and cancelling some flights across the Middle East as tensions ramp up between Iran and the United States, with President Donald Trump saying on Thursday the U.S. had an “armada” heading towards Iran.

A senior Iranian official said on Friday Iran will treat any attack “as an all-out war against us”, ahead of the arrival of a U.S. military aircraft carrier strike group and other assets in the Middle East in the coming days.

The European Union’s aviation regulator recommended on January 16 that its airlines stay out of Iran’s airspace as tensions flared over Tehran’s deadly crackdown on protests and U.S. threats of intervention.

KLM

Airline KLM will avoid flying over large parts of the Middle East until further notice due to rising tensions there, the Dutch arm of airline group Air France KLM (AIRF.PA), opens new tab said on January 24.

“As a precaution, given the geopolitical situation, KLM will not fly through the airspace of Iran, Iraq and Israel and will not fly over several countries in the Gulf region,” a KLM spokesperson said.

AIR FRANCE

Air France resumed its service to Dubai on January 24 after suspending it a day before, saying it was following the situation in the Middle East “in real time”.

“Air France continuously monitors the geopolitical situation of the territories served and overflown by its aircraft,” it said in a statement.

LUFTHANSA

Lufthansa said on January 14 it would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace until further notice, and would only operate day flights to Tel Aviv and Amman between January 14 and January 19.

Some flights could be cancelled as a result of these actions, it added in a statement that day.

BRITISH AIRWAYS

British Airways temporarily suspended flights to Bahrain on January 16 as a precautionary measure, saying it “continue(d) to keep the situation in the region under close review”.

Flights to Bahrain were once again available on the BA website on January 24, and a spokesperson for the airline said all its flights were going ahead as scheduled.

FINNAIR

Finnair (FIA1S.HE), opens new tab said in a statement on January 16 it had stopped flying through Iraqi airspace, travelling to Doha and Dubai over Saudi Arabia instead.

The carrier had already been avoiding Iranian, Syrian and Israeli airspace for security reasons.

WIZZ AIR

A Wizz Air (WIZZ.L), opens new tab spokesperson said in January that the company avoided Iraqi and Iranian airspace.

“Therefore some westbound flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports will have to make (refuelling and crew change) stops in Larnaca, Cyprus or Thessaloniki, Greece,” the representative said.

The death toll from a massive fire at a shopping mall in Karachi has risen to around 50 after firefighters recovered up to 25 additional bodies from the debris, officials said on Wednesday.

The blaze, the deadliest in the port city in more than a decade, broke out late on Saturday and rapidly spread through the Gul Plaza shopping complex, which housed about 1,200 family-run shops selling wedding attire, toys, crockery and other goods.

“We have recovered 20 to 25 bodies, or remains,” Deputy Commissioner Javed Nabi Khoso told reporters, adding that the remains had been transferred to a hospital for DNA identification. He said confirming an exact death toll remained difficult due to the condition of the bodies. The official toll had stood at 29 on Tuesday.

Firefighters battled the inferno for several days before bringing it under control on Tuesday. By then, Gul Plaza had been reduced to rubble and ash.

According to a state-run rescue service, 84 people were reported missing following the fire. Police said most of those unaccounted for are feared dead, raising concerns that the death toll could climb further.

Outside the destroyed complex, mourners gathered to light candles in memory of the victims, some holding photographs of those believed to have perished.

Shopkeeper Rehmat Khan described the scene as catastrophic, saying that 18 to 20 people, including six employees, were inside his shop when the fire erupted. All remain missing, he said.

The fire is Karachi’s deadliest since a 2012 industrial blaze that killed more than 260 people.

The U.N. Human Rights Council will hold an emergency session on Iran this Friday to address “alarming violence” against protesters, according to a document seen by Reuters.

The protests, the largest since nationwide demonstrations in 2022, have resulted in at least 5,000 confirmed deaths, according to Iranian authorities. The unrest has sparked international concern over the use of excessive force and widespread violations of human rights.

U.N. rights chief Volker Turk has condemned the crackdown, calling it a serious violation of international law.

In a letter seen by Reuters, Iceland’s ambassador Einar Gunnarsson, representing a group of countries including Germany and Britain, said a special session is necessary due to “credible reports of alarming violence, crackdowns on protesters, and violations of international human rights law across the country.”

The U.N. confirmed the session will take place Friday, with 21 countries backing the proposal so far.

Human Rights Watch has denounced mass unlawful killings and urged the U.N. to expand its 2022 investigation into Iranian protests with additional funding to ensure accountability.

Iran’s diplomatic mission has not immediately responded to requests by Reuters for comment. Diplomats say Iran has sent rebuttals to U.N. missions, claiming the clashes followed armed attacks on security forces.

Glenn Payot of Impact Iran, a coalition of 19 NGOs, told Reuters the session will send a “message to Iranian authorities that the bloodshed and the suppression of dissenting voices must stop, that they are under watch.”

“It is also an opportunity for the international community to show support for the rights of all Iranians to protest peacefully and express their voices without fear of reprisals,” Payot added.

The protests in Iran reflect long-standing grievances. Previous demonstrations in 2022 were met with violent crackdowns, leaving hundreds dead and thousands detained.

The U.N.’s emergency session underscores the growing international alarm over Iran’s handling of dissent and the broader implications for human rights in the region.