Exclusive-Iran flew IRGC commanders, missile gear to Yemen’s Houthis, sources say

Written by: Maggie Michael and Parisa Hafezi

July 23 (Reuters) – Iran flew Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) commanders, military advisors and missile and drone-related equipment to Yemen this month, according to four sources. The move suggests Tehran is trying to strengthen its Houthi allies’ ability to threaten Red Sea shipping.

Four sources familiar with the matter, including two Iranian sources, Yemen’s information minister and a regional security analyst, said Iran transferred Revolutionary Guard personnel and military equipment on a flight from Tehran to Yemen on July 13; This is a previously unreported development.

Two Iranian sources told Reuters that between 10 and 21 Revolutionary Guard personnel, including senior commanders, were on the Mahan Air plane.

The plane was initially bound for the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, but was diverted to the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah after the airport was attacked by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.

“Revolutionary Guard commanders went there to support Houthi operations and provide training on new missile systems,” one of the sources said, adding that Iran also sent gold on planes to finance Houthi activities.

Two Iranian sources spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.

The deployment provides new evidence of Iran’s efforts to support the Houthis, who have been engaged in a civil war against the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government of Yemen for more than a decade and have attacked their Gulf neighbors with missiles and drones.

Iran’s foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment. Tehran has repeatedly refused to provide missile capabilities to the Houthi movement in Yemen.

Houthi media official Abdurrahman al-Ahnomi, who said he was on the plane, described the claims that Iran sent military experts to Yemen as “lies and fabrications” and added that all passengers on the plane were civilians.

The Houthis have previously denied being Iran’s proxies and said they were developing their own weapons.

DAYS AFTER COMMANDERS ARRIVED, THE HUTHIS STARTED THE SAUDI BLOCKAGE

Three days after the plane reached Yemen, Reuters reported that Tehran had asked the Houthi movement to be ready to close the Red Sea oil route if the United States struck Iran’s energy infrastructure, posing a new threat to global energy supplies.

On Monday, the group, whose area of ​​control in Yemen overlooks the waterway, announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia in response to the July 13 bombing of Sanaa airport, which they said was carried out by Saudi Arabia.

These moves signaled the end of the four-year ceasefire between Riyadh and the Houthis. Their threat to one of the world’s largest maritime trade routes increased further when the group announced Thursday that it had attacked two Saudi oil tankers.

Muammar al-Iryani, the information minister of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government, confirmed the transfer of Guard personnel and equipment based on intelligence in a phone call with Reuters on Wednesday.

“Their mission is to strengthen the military capabilities of the militias and prepare them to threaten international maritime security in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait,” he said.

Mzahem Alsaloum, a security and intelligence analyst who has been tracking the Houthis and other Iran-backed groups for years, also confirmed the arrival of IRGC experts on the July 13 flight.

ANALYST, FLIGHT CARRYED MISSILE AND UAV COMPONENTS ARE RETURNING

It said some of the cargo included components and weapons systems for short- and medium-range missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, similar to those previously used in attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

According to Alsaloum, Tehran sent military advisors to Yemen during the war with Israel last year and directed them through Somalia, but Tehran denied this claim.

The Houthis announced earlier this month that they would operate direct flights between Sanaa and Tehran, stating that this service would help break the blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia on Yemen.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said at a press conference in Tehran on July 20 that the flight to Sanaa on July 13 was intended to take home Yemeni citizens receiving medical treatment in Iran, as well as the Houthi delegation that went to Tehran for the funeral of the murdered Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

On July 3, the plane flew a group of about 200 people, including high-ranking officials, women and children, to Iran for the funeral. Four sources said that on July 13, the plane returned to Yemen, carrying Revolutionary Guard commanders and advisors, as well as members of the delegation. The Saudi-backed government struck the airport before landing in Sanaa, forcing the plane to divert towards Houthi-controlled Hodeidah.

The Houthi army said that the Saudi warplanes that attacked the airport had to leave Yemen’s airspace.

(Written by Parisa Hafezi, Edited by William Maclean)