We aren't looking for war with USA: Iran Ambassador to India

Hours after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 people crashed near Tehran and Iranian government conducted missile strikes against US military bases in Iraq, Iran's ambassador to India said that the country is not looking for war with the country.

In what is seen as an escalating situation, Iran's supreme leader Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday hailed top general commander Soleimani. In a tweet, he said, "General Soleimani fought heroically against ISIS, Al Nusrah, Al Qaeda et al. If it weren't for his war on terror, European capitals would be in great danger now. Our final answer to his assassination will be to kick all US forces out of the region."

Meanwhile in India, Air India said it is temporarily rerouting its flights and that of its subsidiary Air India Express which use Iranian airspace.

Speaking about the move, the airline's spokesperson said, "In light of the tensions within the Iranian airspace a decision to temporarily reroute flights of Air India (AI) and Air India Express (AIX) overflying Iran has been taken. This may lead to increase in flying time by approximately 20 minutes for flights from Delhi and 30 to 40 minutes for flights from Mumbai."

Aviation regulator DGCA on Wednesday morning has issued advisories to Indian airlines to remain vigilant and take all precautions in airspace over Iran, Iraq, Gulf of Oman and waters of Persian Gulf. This came in just hours after the crash of Ukrainian International airlines flight that killed 176 people near Tehran.