On Saturday, Saudi Arabia’s national carrier Saudia denied reports that five of its former Boeing 777-268ER widebodies have been delivered to Iran’s Mahan Air, an airline under US and EU sanctions over its ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In a post on the social platform X, Saudia said the aircraft were sold on June 7, 2023 to a company registered outside Saudi Arabia, with the deal carried out in accordance with all applicable commercial and legal procedures.
Saudia’s claim is procedural: the planes have not been its aircraft since June 2023, with any subsequent hand the responsibility of the buyer and later owners. Aviation tracking in late June 2026 linked the deliveries to the UAE and Oman and placed two of the widebodies at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, where Mahan Air’s domestic and regional operation hubs.
Saudia’s Saturday Denial
Saudia’s post landed on the morning of July 4, around two weeks after the first of the widebodies was tracked to Iranian airspace, and one day after aviation accounts named five of the jets on satellite imagery. The carrier did not identify the buyer, citing commercial confidentiality.
The airline added that it has had no operational or commercial relationship with the aircraft since the 2023 sale closed. Founded in September 1945 and known for most of its history as Saudi Arabian Airlines, Saudia now operates a fleet of about 149 passenger jets, comprising 95 Airbus narrowbodies and 54 Boeing 777 and 787 widebodies, per the airline’s website. The clarification followed reports posted on social media linking the planes to a sanctioned carrier and aviation analyst Babak Taghvaee’s tracking that placed two of the widebodies at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, as covered in Saudia’s clarification on the 777 reports. Per the statement, no Saudia staff, training, or maintenance supports the five jets today.
What the Reports Tie to Mahan Air
Reports circulating in regional aviation channels since late June have tied the same five Boeing 777-268ER widebodies to Mahan Air, Iran’s largest private carrier and the country’s second-biggest operator by international routes, as laid out in How five Boeing 777s ended up with Mahan Air. Tracking data and airport photography cited in those reports showed two of the widebodies on the ground at Mehrabad International Airport, Tehran’s main hub for domestic and regional flights. The third aircraft, per Taghvaee’s tracking, was ferried into Iran via Muscat on June 26, 2026, after a stop in the UAE.
Mahan Air has been under US Treasury sanctions since December 12, 2011, when Washington designated the airline a material and transportation supporter of terrorism for ties to the IRGC-Quds Force, in Mahan Air sanctions history and US Treasury designation. The European Union followed in October 2024, sanctioning Mahan Air for transporting missiles and drones to Russia during the Ukraine war.
Neither Mahan Air, the Iranian government, nor any involved Gulf state has confirmed the route on the record. Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UAE, and Oman have not joined Mahan Air in responding publicly to the reports Saudia was reacting to. The likely terminal operator named in the unverified reports is Mahan Air, whose hubs include both Mehrabad and Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport.
- 5 ex-Saudia Boeing 777-268ER jets reportedly routed to Mahan Air
- 2 of those confirmed at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport
- 54 Boeing widebodies (777 and 787) still operate in Saudia’s current fleet of about 149 aircraft
- June 7, 2023: Saudia records the sale of the five planes to a company registered outside Saudi Arabia
- $45 million: a single used 777-268ER could fetch on the second-hand market, putting the rough total near $225 million
The UAE-Oman Route Saudia’s Statement Doesn’t Name
Aviation analyst Babak Taghvaee, who tracks Iranian and Gulf carrier movements, wrote on June 29, 2026 on X that the UAE government is helping Iranian airlines acquire retired Saudia widebodies to replace ageing airframes. Per his post, the second ex-Saudia 777 was ferried into Iran from Muscat by an Emirati seller on Friday, June 26, 2026. He added that the Iranian buyer is a billionaire from the city of Isfahan, and that the Omani and UAE governments are facilitating the broader delivery program.
The two Gulf states sit at the narrowest point on the Persian Gulf shipping lanes and host the regional MRO hubs that handle heavy checks on widebodies. Per Taghvaee’s account, three more jets were scheduled for delivery as of his post, with two more to be routed through Muscat or Sohar after receiving San Marino registration codes for the ferry flight to Iran. The middleman jurisdiction is the classic workaround for an aircraft whose original FAA-issued airworthiness certificate cannot legally transfer to a sanctioned operator. None of the Emirati, Omani, or San Marino entities named in his account, nor Mahan Air itself, has commented publicly on the route.
- Saudia sells the five Boeing 777-268ER widebodies to an unnamed overseas buyer on June 7, 2023.
- The jets pass through one or more intermediate owners over the following three years.
- Aviation tracking places one of the jets on the ground at Mehrabad International Airport, Tehran, by late June 2026.
- A second jet is ferried through Muscat on June 26, 2026, with the UAE and Omani governments reported to be facilitating the movement.
- Three additional jets are scheduled for delivery, routed via Fujairah, Sharjah, and Muscat or Sohar, with the ferry leg flown under San Marino registration codes.
Iran’s War Damages Made Every Widebody Count
Iran lost at least 18 civilian aircraft during the war the United States and Israel opened on February 28, 2026, and Mahan Air took a direct hit on its long-haul fleet. The carrier had four Airbus A340-600 widebodies in service before March 2026; satellite imagery released by CENTCOM confirms one was damaged beyond repair in the strikes and at least one Boeing 777-200ER was destroyed in the same period.
An Israeli strike on Mehrabad International Airport on March 7, 2026 destroyed 19 aircraft across multiple types, including three Boeing 747s operated by IRGC-linked cargo carriers and several airliners in storage, per Aircraft losses at Mehrabad during the 2026 Iran war. The Iran Air Airbus A340, registration EP-IGA, was destroyed in a follow-up IDF strike on Mehrabad on March 15, 2026. A later strike at Mashhad Airport damaged a Mahan Air aircraft on a humanitarian mission to New Delhi, per Iranian officials.
The pattern left Mahan Air and Iran’s other carriers scrambling for replacements through third-country channels that, for a country under comprehensive US and EU aviation sanctions, do not officially exist on any country register. Per the publicly tracked fleet history, Iran’s airliners in storage at Mehrabad before the war are now gone, either destroyed in the strikes or written off in transit.
The Price Tag and the Sanctions Question
A used Boeing 777-268ER widebody could cost upwards of $45 million on the second-hand market, putting the price tag for the five reported aircraft near $225 million. The deal sits outside any official Saudi budget line. Saudia’s most recent disclosed widebody order, eight 777-300ERs at list prices, was worth $3.3 billion at the time, against a later eight-aircraft 777-300ER order placed with Boeing on a $2.4 billion list.
American-built aircraft remain under US export-control rules even after resale, with the State Department and Commerce Department tracking transfers of large airframes. The five jets have moved through a buyer, an MRO, and a ferry jurisdiction that the State Department has not, on the public record, approved. None of the involved governments, the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, or the US State Department, has confirmed the route on the record at publication.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Saudia say on July 4, 2026 about the Boeing 777 reports?
Saudia posted on X that the five Boeing 777-268ER widebodies were sold on June 7, 2023 to a company registered outside Saudi Arabia, with the deal carried out in accordance with all applicable commercial and legal procedures, and that the carrier has had no operational or commercial relationship with the planes since the sale closed.
Why is Mahan Air sanctioned by the US and EU?
The US Treasury designated Mahan Air in December 2011 as a material and transportation supporter of terrorism for ties to the IRGC-Quds Force. The European Union added Mahan Air to its sanctions list in October 2024 for transporting missiles and drones to Russia during the Ukraine war.
How many ex-Saudia 777s reportedly reached Mahan Air?
Reports cited two confirmed Boeing 777-268ER widebodies at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport as of early July 2026, with five ex-Saudia jets total tied to Mahan Air.
Which countries are reported to have helped the deliveries?
Aviation analyst Babak Taghvaee wrote on June 29, 2026 that the UAE and Omani governments are facilitating the deliveries, with aircraft routed through Muscat, Fujairah, Sharjah, and Sohar, and ferry legs flown under San Marino registration codes.
What aircraft did Iran lose in the 2026 war?
Iran lost at least 18 civilian aircraft during the 2026 war, including one Mahan Air Airbus A340-600 damaged beyond repair and a Mahan Air Boeing 777-200ER destroyed. The March 7 Israeli strike on Mehrabad destroyed 19 aircraft in total, and the Iran Air Airbus A340 registration EP-IGA was destroyed at Mehrabad on March 15, 2026.
