US Strike Damaged Mahan Air Plane Bound For Aid Mission To India: Iranian Officials

New Delhi: A US airstrike at Mashhad airport in Iran on Monday damaged a Mahan Air aircraft, disrupting a planned mission to India to collect humanitarian aid, Iranian officials claimed.

According to the authorities, the aircraft was scheduled to fly to New Delhi this week to collect essential medical supplies and humanitarian aid for people in Iran.

The plane was expected to arrive in New Delhi on April 1 but the aircraft was damaged in the alleged attack by the US on Mashhad airport, officials said. However, US officials have not yet confirmed or responded to these claims.

Earlier, India had sent its first consignment of medical supplies to Iran on March 18 through the Iranian Red Crescent Society. The Iranian embassy in New Delhi also thanked people of India for the assistance.

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Organisation of Iran has strongly condemned the attack, calling it a "war crime and a clear violation of international law".

"The Civil Aviation Organisation of the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemned the Israeli-American attack on an Iranian civilian aircraft transporting medicines and medical equipment from several countries to Iran, which had landed at Mashhad Airport," said Iranian Embassy in India.

"The Organisation’s statement emphasised that targeting civilian aircraft engaged in humanitarian missions is a blatant violation of international aviation regulations and contrary to the principles of humanitarian law," the Embassy stated in a post on X.

The Civil Aviation Organisation further called on international bodies to urgently address this act, prosecute those responsible, and prevent the recurrence of such threats against civil aviation.

According to the Chicago Convention (1944) and the Montreal Convention (1971), the organisation said, any act against the safety of civilian aircraft is considered an international criminal offense in the field of aviation. Furthermore, under Article 52 of the Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, attacks on civilian objects, including aircraft carrying humanitarian aid, constitute a war crime, it added.

Mahan Air is a privately-owned Iranian airline that operates flights across several countries in West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia.

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