The site was originally called Base-J and was the site of the Imperial Iranian Army's first Armored and Mechanized artillery forces provided by the Czechoslovak Škoda Works, under the command of General Mahmud Mir-Djalali (grandfather of Pierre Omidyar).

1938–1954

The airport was used for the first time as an airfield for aviation club planes in 1938. During World War II it became a stopover point for the U.S. Air Transport Command. After the war, along with becoming internationally recognized by joining the Iranian civil aviation organization to the ICAO in 1949, the airport also became an air force base.

1955–1978

In 1955 just after the construction of the first asphalt-paved runway, a new terminal building (current Terminal 1) for both international and domestic flights was designed and constructed. In April 1956 Lockheed T-33 Shooting Stars (T-33As) trainer aircraft began arriving for the Imperial Iranian Air Force. In May 1957 these were followed by Republic F-84 Thunderjet (F-84Gs) fighter.

In May 1975, Iran Air started flying to New York via London with a Boeing 707. The airline launched direct service to New York using Boeing 747SPs the following June. The construction of a new airport commenced 35 kilometres (22 mi) from Tehran in 1977. The city was growing around Mehrabad, and the airfield was witnessing high amounts of traffic. Between 1970 and 1976, passenger counts had risen from 900,000 to 3,020,000.

1979–2007

On 24 January 1979, the military took control of Mehrabad and other airports in the country in an attempt to prevent Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's return from exile in Paris. It ultimately relented and permitted his arrival at Mehrabad aboard a chartered Air France plane eight days later.

At the beginning of the Iran–Iraq War in September 1980, Iraq carried out an air strike on the airport. In the 1980s, Mehrabad's route network spanned from Paris to Beijing.

By 2000, the airport was serving nine million passengers annually, in addition to military flights. Due to the congestion, airlines advised travellers to arrive at Mehrabad three hours prior to departure. The new airport, now called Imam Khomeini International Airport, opened in 2004. However, political factors delayed the transfer of all international flights to the new facility. All international flights had moved to Imam Khomeini Airport by March 2008.

2008–present

After the transfer of all International flights to Imam Khomeini, Mehrabad became solely for domestic traffic. Despite this, it has faced being overcrowded with the expansion of air travel in the country. In 2015 a proposal for a seventh terminal at Mehrabad was made, with plans to open a new twenty-gate terminal located between terminal 1, 2, 4, 6. The proposal estimated completion of this expansion by 2020, however construction never began and it is unclear if the proposal will move forward.

In 2019, a proposal to transfer domestic flights to Imam Khomeini airport was made. However it was abandoned and has not been officially considered due it being protested by Iranians and Tehranis as it would require a longer travel from the city to the further Imam Khomeini airport.

During the Twelve-Day War (June 2025) between Iran and Israel, the airport was closed after explosions at the site on 14 June 2025. An Israeli airstrike at the airport hit two Iranian F-14 fighter jets with one of those being destroyed.

On 3 March 2026, during the 2026 Iran war, the Mehrabad Airport was hit in an Israeli airstrike.