Iran and its airlines continue to circumvent sanctions, with Mahan Air becoming the latest carrier to ‘refresh’ its fleet with new – but used – aircraft. The Iranian airline acquired five ex-Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200ERs, some of which had been phased out before the pandemic and transferred to the now-defunct NokScoot, a Thailand-based joint venture between Nok Air and Scoot, Singapore Airlines’ low-cost arm.
Planespotters.net records showed that Mahan Air is set to take delivery of five 777-200ER aircraft. While the Iranian registration of the quintet is currently unknown, the five widebodies were registered in Madagascar with the 5R prefix just before their transfer to the Iranian airline: 5R-HER, 5R-IJA, 5R-ISA, 5R-RIJ, and 5R-RIS. Several Iranian outlets have confirmed that the five jets are now in Iran, with some, including Nasr News, reporting that Iranian airlines could welcome another five to six 777s shortly.
Per planespotters.net, the quintet has almost identical operating histories. Boeing delivered the five 777-200ERs to Singapore Airlines between 2001 and 2003, with the carrier operating the aircraft until 2014 (9V-SRH, 5R-ISA, before it was transferred to Iran), 2017 (9V-SRJ, 5R-IJA), 2018 (9V-SRL, 5R-RIS), and 2019 (9V-SRP, 5R-RIJ). The only exception was 9V-SRG, which Singapore Airlines transferred to its low-cost subsidiary, Scoot, in October 2013. The aircraft’s latest registration, before it was shipped to Mahan Air, was 5R-HER.
Following their stints at Singapore Airlines and Scoot, NokScoot introduced them into service between 2015 and 2019. When the pandemic began and international borders were closed, the five were initially stored at Bangkok Don Mueang International Airport (DMK) and later at Alice Springs Airport (ASP), an Australian airport known for being an aircraft boneyard.
While 9V-SRP was moved to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) in April 2021, presumably for a planned return to service on Singapore Airlines’ flights, those plans never materialized, and the 777-200ER was once again stored at ASP. Between late 2023 and early 2024, the quintet, now under the ownership of Ion Aviation, a self-described aircraft brokerage service, relocated to Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (LHW) in China. Before their eventual transfer to Iran, all five aircraft had moved to Siem Reap Angkor International Airport (SAI) on July 4, 2025, or July 8, 2025.
Flightradar24 and ADS-B Exchange showed that on July 15, 2025, 5R-HER was on the move from SAI. Its transponder turned off just as the 777-200ER was about to enter Afghan airspace, according to the flight history provided by both flight tracking sites. The transponders of 5R-IJA, 5R-ISA, and 5R-RIS were also switched off as they were overflying Pakistan, according to ADS-B Exchange. 5R-IJA was inactive on the radar on July 15, 2025.
If Mahan Air is confirmed to be the destination airline for the quintet, this would be Iran’s first-ever 777s, according to ch-aviation data. Since the first Trump administration expanded sanctions against Iran in late 2018 following Trump’s decision to exit the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran in May 2018, the country and its aviation industry have been pushed into the shadows. As such, to refresh its already-aged fleet and potentially stimulate some growth, it has been using various methods to circumvent sanctions and acquire aircraft on the second-hand market.
Ch-aviation indicates that since January 1, 2019, Iranian airlines, including Iran Air and Mahan Air, have introduced 33 aircraft, ranging from older Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family aircraft to the Airbus A340. This number does not include the five 777-200ERs.
One high-profile case occurred when four former Turkish Airlines A340s departed South Africa and subsequently appeared in Iran. Similar to the five 777-200ERs, their transponders were turned off in or around the country in December 2022. Mahan Air’s latest addition, excluding the quintet of 777-200ERs, is an A340-300, which it welcomed in April 2025. The aircraft, registered as EP-MJG, was delivered to Iberia in 2002. The Spanish carrier operated the A340-300 until 2014, when Philippine Airlines took over the aircraft from 2014 until 2019, according to ch-aviation. After being stored in the Philippines and the United States, the A340-300 was moved to Malaysia, and then Šiauliai International Airport (SQQ).
After being re-registered as C5-MIA, the aircraft departed SQQ, which has no scheduled flights but serves as the home base of the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission, in February 2024. According to records on planespotters.net, it was welcomed by Mahan Air on April 27, 2025, as planned. The Iranian airline welcomed another A340-600, formerly registered as C5-MIC and stored at SQQ, in June 2024. The aircraft now bears the registration EP-MMU.
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