Tehran: Mahan Air flights, a privately owned Iranian airline based in Tehran, were found operating in Iranian airspace on Thursday morning, despite a no-fly zone imposed by Iranian authorities amid escalating tensions with the United States over Tehran’s crackdown on nationwide protests.

However, the aircraft’s presence has sparked speculation that China might be providing Iran with essential arms and support, should the United States decide to intervene, as the Trump administration has not ruled out the possibility of action.

The United States designated Mahan Air in 2011 under counterterrorism authority for providing material support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Qods Force (IRGC-QF), and again in 2019 under weapons of mass destruction authority for shipping United Nations-restricted missile and nuclear items to Iran.

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Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for several hours without explanation early Thursday. The closure, which ran for over four hours according to pilot guidance, disrupted a key East-West flight route. International carriers were forced to divert north and south around Iranian territory, though after one extension, the airspace reopened, and several domestic flights were airborne just after 7 a.m.

Iran had previously shut its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June and amid exchanges of fire during the Israel-Hamas conflict. While there were no signs of ongoing hostilities currently, the closure immediately rippled through global aviation due to the strategic location of Iranian airspace.

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In past incidents, Iran has misidentified commercial aircraft as hostile targets. In 2020, Iranian air defence shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people on board. Iran initially dismissed the allegations as Western propaganda before acknowledging the attack days later.

The airspace closure coincided with precautionary measures at key U.S. military bases in Qatar, where some personnel were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also instructed its personnel to “temporary halt” visits to multiple military bases in the Gulf nation.

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U.S. President Donald Trump made a series of vague statements on Wednesday regarding Iran. He said he had been told “on good authority” that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, without providing further details. This followed his earlier remarks to Iranian protesters, stating, “help is on the way” and that his administration would “act accordingly” in response to the Islamic Republic’s deadly crackdown.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, meanwhile, attempted to de-escalate tensions, urging the United States to find a solution through negotiation.