{"id":119885,"date":"2026-07-15T13:37:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T13:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/?p=119885"},"modified":"2026-07-15T13:37:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T13:37:46","slug":"from-damascus-to-sanaa-why-does-tehran-continue-to-rely-on-mahan-air","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/from-damascus-to-sanaa-why-does-tehran-continue-to-rely-on-mahan-air\/","title":{"rendered":"From Damascus to Sana’a: Why Does Tehran Continue to Rely on “Mahan Air”?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Eleven years after its first appearance on the Yemeni scene, the Iranian airline Mahan Air has once again become the focus of attention, triggering a new political and security dispute amid escalating tensions between the Yemeni government and the Houthis. The controversy comes amid accusations that Tehran is attempting to impose a new reality concerning the management of Yemeni airspace.<\/p>\n

The crisis erupted after a Mahan Air aircraft transported a Houthi delegation from Sana’a to Tehran in early July to attend the funeral ceremony of Ali Khamenei. The aircraft then attempted to return to Sana’a on July 13, in a move the internationally recognized Yemeni government described as a dangerous escalation and a blatant violation of Yemen’s sovereignty.<\/p>\n

The landing attempt ended when Yemeni forces targeted the runway at Sana’a International Airport to prevent the aircraft from landing, forcing it to divert to Al Hudaydah Airport, which is under Houthi control and had remained out of service for more than a decade. The incident triggered heightened political and military tensions and ultimately led to an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council.<\/p>\n

A Crisis Beyond an Air Flight: A Struggle Over Sovereignty<\/h3>\n

Although the dispute appeared to revolve around a single flight, its underlying causes reveal a broader conflict over who holds the legal authority to manage Yemen’s airspace and regulate international flights to and from Sana’a Airport.<\/p>\n

The Yemeni government stated that it had been fully prepared to facilitate the return of the Houthi delegation aboard Yemenia Airways, the country’s officially recognized national carrier. It also expressed its willingness to resume civilian flights in accordance with existing international arrangements.<\/p>\n

However, the Houthis\u2014backed by Tehran\u2014insisted on using Mahan Air, a move that observers view as an attempt to establish a permanent air corridor outside the supervision of Yemen’s legitimate state institutions and to impose new arrangements beyond official channels.<\/p>\n

This insistence has raised questions about why Iran continues to rely specifically on Mahan Air despite having more than 24 public and private airlines, including its national carrier, Iran Air.<\/p>\n

Reports suggest that the answer lies in the role Mahan Air has played over the years. The airline has been linked to security and logistical operations extending far beyond conventional civil aviation, particularly in connection with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Quds Force.<\/p>\n

Mahan Air’s involvement in Yemen is not new. The airline first emerged in February 2015, months after the Houthis seized control of Sana’a, when the Houthi-controlled aviation authorities signed an agreement with Iran to operate 28 direct flights per week between Sana’a and Tehran, with 14 flights for each side.<\/p>\n

Just two days after the agreement was signed, the airline’s first aircraft landed at Sana’a Airport, inaugurating the first direct air bridge between the two capitals. Flights were later suspended following the launch of Operation Decisive Storm and the closure of Yemeni airspace.<\/p>\n

An International Record of Sanctions and Controversy<\/h3>\n

Mahan Air was established in 1991 in the city of Kerman, southeastern Iran, as the country’s first private airline after the Iranian Revolution. However, it quickly became one of the world’s most controversial airlines.<\/p>\n

In 2011, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on the company, accusing it of providing aircraft and logistical services to the Quds Force of the IRGC and participating in the transportation of personnel, equipment, and weapons to areas of Iranian influence across the Middle East.<\/p>\n

The sanctions were later expanded to include the airline’s chairman, Hamid Arabnejad, along with networks of intermediaries in several countries accused of helping the company circumvent sanctions and obtain aircraft parts and technical services for its fleet.<\/p>\n

In subsequent years, Mahan Air became associated with the air bridge used by Tehran to support the Syrian government. Reports also linked the airline to the transportation of supplies for Iran’s allies in Iraq and Lebanon.<\/p>\n

Its activities were not limited to the Arab region. International reports in 2020 alleged that the airline was used to transport Venezuelan gold to Iran in exchange for assistance and expertise in the energy sector.<\/p>\n

In October 2024, the European Union imposed additional sanctions on Mahan Air, accusing it of transporting ballistic missiles and drones to Russia, following earlier decisions by Germany, France, and Italy to revoke the airline’s operating permits on national security grounds.<\/p>\n

Observers believe this international record explains the Yemeni government’s firm response to the airline’s two recent flights, a position that was also reflected in its move to bring the matter before the UN Security Council.<\/p>\n

In this context, Yemen’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Abdullah Al-Saadi, referred the issue to the Council, highlighting the airline’s security background and its ties to the IRGC. He stated that the government possesses information and evidence that will be submitted to the UN Sanctions Committee and the Panel of Experts to determine whether the two flights were used to transport individuals, equipment, or technology that may fall under the arms embargo imposed on the Houthi movement.<\/p>\n

United News Network \u2013 UNN Arabic<\/strong><\/p>\n

An independent media platform providing reliable news and objective analysis while promoting peace and cultural dialogue around the world, with the aim of conveying the truth and building bridges of understanding between peoples.<\/p>\n

For more news, visit our homepage:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/un-news.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Author:<\/strong> Counselor Faisal Al-Mutairi<\/p>\n

Publication Date:<\/strong> July 15, 2026<\/p>\n

Last Updated: July 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eleven years after its first appearance on the Yemeni scene, the Iranian airline Mahan Air has once again become the focus of attention, triggering a new political and security dispute amid escalating tensions between the Yemeni government and the Houthis. The controversy comes amid accusations that Tehran is attempting to impose a new reality concerning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":119884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"tmauthors":[74],"class_list":{"0":"post-119885","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119885"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119888,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119885\/revisions\/119888"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119885"},{"taxonomy":"tmauthors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tmauthors?post=119885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}