An Iranian Mahan Air aircraft stationed at Mashhad International Airport in Iran has reportedly been hit during a strike by the US on Iran. The strike has disrupted a planned humanitarian mission flight as the aircraft was scheduled to fly to New Delhi to collect aid supplies.
It was expected to arrive on April 1, 4:00 am.
The incident has raised concerns about commercial aviation safety in the country. During the beginning of the war, about 16-17 commercial passenger and cargo aircraft were destroyed by Israeli strikes in Iran at the Mehrabad airport.
Israel had claimed that the flights had belonged to the IRGC and that the Quds Force used them to arm terrorists.
However, satellite imagery had shown that the flights were passenger planes. Israel has claimed that Iran used commercial passenger flights like Air Iran and Mahan Air to transport weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
The recent strike was on one of the planes that was scheduled to transport 11 tons of humanitarian aid, including medicines, to Iran from India. Indian flights were not used for any of the prior shipments.
India’s first shipment of aid to Iran was sent on March 18, 2026. New Delhi had said that the shipments symbolised the friendly and civilisational link between the two countries.
