Mahan Airlines was banned between 2019-2020 from Germany, France, Italy and Spain due to its involvement with the Maduro government in Venezuela and the Assad regime in Syria.

Mahan Air was established in 1991 as a Full-Service Carrier (FSC) and began operations in June 1992 as Iran's first private airline.

According to the British High Court, three 747-400s were unlawfully taken by Mahan Air from their real owner, Blue Sky Airlines, in 2008, using forged bills of sale.

Based in Tehran, Mahan Air provides transportation, funds transfers, and personnel travel services to the IRGC-QF.

[citation needed] During the Venezuelan presidential crisis, Mahan Air launched their direct Caracas-Tehran route in April 2019.

[19][20] France imposed the same ban on 25 March 2019, and Mahan Air was forced to cancel its 4-weekly service to Paris.

[24] In October 2024, The European Union imposed sanctions on Mahan Air for supplying missiles and drones to Russia for the war in Ukraine.

[26] During the Israel-Hamas war, Iran is suspected to have used Mahran air to transfer money to Iranian proxy, Hezbollah in Lebanon.