Israel Bars United Pilot After Ministry Letter Flags Iran and Hezbollah Support Claims

Israel will not allow flights crewed by United Airlines pilot Sina Amjadian to land in the country, senior Transportation Ministry officials confirmed to Ynet. The decision followed a security warning based on social media allegations that Amjadian, who is of Iranian descent, expressed support for Iran's regime, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah. The Jerusalem Post reports the Transportation Ministry notified United on Wednesday.

The warning came in an October 19 letter obtained by Ynet. In it, Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry Director General Avi Cohen Scali alerted Shin Bet Director David Zini and Transportation Ministry Director General Moshe Ben Zaken to the allegations, with copies to Israel Airports Authority Director General Sharon Kadmi and other senior officials. Ynet reports the letter included two posts from X. One claimed Amjadian, who allegedly once worked for flydubai, had shared content supporting the Iranian regime, including a video in which he purportedly kissed and saluted the regime's emblem. The second alleged he had voiced support for the Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah and urged United to look into his conduct. Ynet notes the claims were circulated by other users on X, and the material sent to Israeli officials did not include the pilot's own posts.

The Jerusalem Post reports that Amjadian shared images on social media featuring the late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei alongside Islamic Republic flags, while criticizing Israeli military strikes in Iran. The paper says recent reports indicate he lives in Dubai. After the findings were presented to defense officials, a recommendation was issued to bar him from flying into Israel as a crew member, and formal notice went to the airline, the paper reports.

According to the Diaspora Affairs Ministry, the warning grew out of an attempted attack aboard a flydubai flight bound for Israel in late September. Ynet reports that incident led Israel's National Command and Control Center for Combating Antisemitism to widen its monitoring to people who might pose a threat to aviation security. The ministry said the information on Amjadian warranted professional security scrutiny given the sensitive duties of an international airline pilot, and it asked for an update on the review and any steps taken. The Jerusalem Post reports the flydubai hijacking attempt, on a flight from Dubai to Israel, ended with an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia about three weeks before the directive, and that there is no evidence linking Amjadian to it.

Transportation Ministry officials told Ynet the ministry is not an intelligence agency and does not monitor social media on its own. They stressed that barring a pilot from operating a flight to Israel is separate from the power to deny a person entry, which rests with border control. The Jerusalem Post reports the ministry later learned from United that Amjadian flies only domestic routes within the United States and Canada, so no existing flight assignments to Israel change. Ynet reports Israeli officials are also reviewing how foreign flight crews are approved as part of the measures adopted after the flydubai incident, and that United had not responded to a request for comment.