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Airlines across the European Union have been urged to avoid Iranian airspace due to the ongoing political unrest in the country. EASA (the European Union Aviation Safety Agency) noted that there is a high threat of US military action, and this subsequently has placed the Iranian air defense on a high state of alert. This means that there is a significant risk of wrongful identification for commercial passenger flights.
As reported by Reuters, US President Donald Trump has not ruled out the chances of a strike on Iran, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz reiterated this message, supporting the President with ‘all options are on the table’. This has led to many European and Asian carriers already taking action to avoid the region, rerouting their travel paths to actively avoid Iranian airspace for the safety of their crew, passengers, and aircraft.
Conflict Zone Information Bulletin
On Wednesday, January 14, Iran had temporarily closed its airspace due to potential military action, which led to the cancellation and delay of some flights in the region, with many then rerouting to avoid the territory.
EASA has warned airlines across Europe to avoid Iranian airspace and use caution when route planning and operations for neighbouring airspace in the region. In a Conflict Zone Information Bulletin that was issued by the agency on Friday, January 16, noted that airlines could be misidentified by military aircraft if traveling through Iranian airspace. EASA’s advisory states:
With ongoing tensions and the potential for U.S. military action, which has placed Iranian air defence forces on a heightened state of alert, there is an increased likelihood of misidentification within Iranian airspace.
Airlines Actively Avoiding The Area
Using flight tracking data from Flightrada24, it can identify several major airlines have actively been avoiding flying over Iran due to raised concern around potential military action. This shows most carriers following a route across Northern Turkey, Azerbaijan, and across the Caspian Sea, before heading southeast across Afghanistan, Pakistan, and onwards, or down the western side of Iran, passing over Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman.
This primarily affects flights that travel between Europe, India, and Asia. An example of this is 
Air India flight AI-180, or SriLankan Airlines UL-558, which at the time of writing, was traveling between Vienna and 
Mumbai Airport and had actively avoided Iranian airspace, and is traveling down the western side of Iran across Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, and Oman.
Another example is Scandinavian Airlines flight SK-975 between Copenhagen and Bangkok, which is flying around Iran on the eastern side, passing over Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan, or LOT Polish Airlines LO-6291 from Warsaw to Ho Chi Minh City, also taking the same flight path. These re-routes do not appear to be adding excessive amounts of time to the usual flight duration.
EASA Tells Airlines To Stay Clear Of Iran As Security Concerns Continue
While the direct confrontation between Iran and Israel has, for now, ended, EASA warned that the situation remains unpredictable.
Some Airlines Continue To Operate
While the directive from EASA is aimed at European carriers, it does not mean that all airlines are avoiding Iranian airspace. Flightradar24 shows a small number of carriers that continue to operate in the region, including 
flydubai, Etihad, and Azerbaijan Airlines (note this list is not exhaustive).
While some services are to/from Iran, a number are between other countries; such as flyDubai FZ-973 from Dubai to Kazan and FZ-1721 from Dubai to Almaty, Flyone 5F-5154 from Dubai to Chisinau International Airport, Azerbaijan Airlines J2-59 from Baku to Mumbai and 
Etihad Airways EY-888 from Abu Dhabi to Beijing.
Six years ago, a Ukrainian passenger plane was traveling across Iran when a surface to air missle accidently brought down the passenger aircraft. Iran eventually accepted responsibility based on human error, and the attack had occurred amid tension between Iran and the United States. The flight, operating on January 8, 2020, was PS-752 traveling from Tehran to Kyiv, onboard a Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
