Cancellation of Mahan Flight to Beirut; Iran Prevents Lebanese Planes from Landing in Tehran

Iran has prevented Lebanese planes that were supposed to return dozens of Lebanese citizens stranded in Iran from landing. This tension arose after Lebanon denied a Mahan Airlines passenger plane permission to land at Beirut Airport, an action Tehran attributed to Israeli threats of an attack. On Friday, February 15, Ismail Baqaei, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, stated that Israel 'threatened' the Iranian plane, causing 'disruption' in normal flights to Beirut Airport. He condemned this action, calling it a 'violation of international law.' After the Iranian flight was prevented from landing, Lebanon sent two planes from its national airline, Middle East Airlines, to return Lebanese citizens to Tehran, but Iran did not allow these planes to land. The CEO of Imam Khomeini Airport stated that flights from Tehran to Beirut are still not operating. Mojtaba Amani, the Iranian ambassador in Beirut, announced in an interview with Iranian state television that Lebanese planes would only be allowed to land if Iranian flights also received permission to enter Beirut. He emphasized that the request from the Lebanese government would certainly be accepted, provided it does not create obstacles for Iranian flights. This diplomat, who sustained serious injuries during Hezbollah's pager explosions in Israeli operations, also mentioned that the Lebanese government has requested that another plane replace the Iranian one; he stated that Iran generally welcomes the establishment of Lebanese airline flights to Iran but not in a manner that cancels the Iranian flight and replaces it with a Lebanese one. As a result of this standoff, dozens of Lebanese citizens, referred to as 'pilgrims,' have been stranded for three days. The cancellation of the Mahan Airlines flight follows accusations from Israel that Tehran uses civilian aircraft to smuggle money to Beirut and equip Hezbollah. In this context, Avichai Adraee, a spokesperson for the Israeli army, claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah use civilian flights to smuggle money to Beirut. He emphasized that the Israeli army 'will not allow Hezbollah to arm itself and will use all available means to enforce a ceasefire that prohibits the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah.' Yusuf Raji, the new Lebanese Foreign Minister, stated on Friday in an interview with Al-Jadeed that he is negotiating with his Iranian counterpart to resolve this issue. In response, dozens of Hezbollah supporters blocked roads leading to Beirut Airport on Thursday night in protest against this situation. Videos released show protesters burning tires and chanting slogans. Earlier in September, the Lebanese Ministry of Transport had denied an Iranian plane permission to enter its airspace after Israel warned the Beirut airport control tower that it would use military force if the plane landed. Hezbollah suffered heavy blows in the recent war with Israel, including the deaths of many senior commanders and its leader Hassan Nasrallah in Israeli attacks.