&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Iran flew IRGC men, advisers and military gear to Yemen, bolstered Houthis for Red Sea blockade: Sources")
Iran bolstered the Houthis in Yemen in advance before the Tehran-backed and funded militant group announced a maritime blockade in the Red Sea and started attacking commercial ships as part of a strategy. Iran flew Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, military advisers, and missile- and drone-related equipment into Yemen earlier this month, according to four sources, as per a Reuters report.
Tehran’s move indicates that it was seeking to strengthen the ability of its Houthi allies to threaten Red Sea shipping.
As per four sources privy to the matter, including two Iranian sources, Yemen’s information minister and a regional security analyst, Iran transferred the IRGC personnel and military-related equipment on a flight from Tehran to Yemen on July 13.
The two Iranian sources said that between 10 and 21 IRGC personnel, including senior commanders, were on the Mahan Air flight.
The plane was originally bound for the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa, but was diverted to the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah after the airport came under attack by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.
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“The IRGC commanders travelled there to support Houthi operations and provide training on new missile systems,” said one source, adding that Iran also sent gold on the aircraft to fund Houthi activities.
The two Iranian sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns. Tehran repeatedly denies providing missile capabilities to the Houthis in Yemen.
The recent Iranian deployment of men and military gear in Yemen is evidence of Tehran’s efforts to reinforce the Houthis, who have been in a civil war against the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised Yemeni government for more than a decade and have attacked Gulf neighbours and Israel.
Houthis imposed Saudi blockade days after arrival of IRGC commanders
Three days after the flight arrived in Yemen, Tehran had asked the Houthis to be ready to close the Red Sea oil route if the US struck Iranian power infrastructure in order to pose a new threat to global energy supplies, the report added.
The Houthis announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia on Monday.
The threat to one of the world’s top maritime trade routes escalated further on Thursday when the group claimed to have attacked two Saudi oil tankers.
Moammar al-Iryani, who is information minister in Yemen’s government, confirmed, citing intelligence, the transfers of IRGC personnel and equipment.
“Their mission is to strengthen the militias’ military capabilities and prepare them to threaten international maritime security in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait,” he said.
Flight carried missile and drone components: Security analyst
Mzahem Alsaloum, a security and intelligence analyst who has been tracking the Houthis and other Iranian-backed militant groups, said some of the cargo included components related to short- and medium-range missiles and drones, weapons systems similar to those previously used in attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Houthis had announced direct flights between Sanaa and Tehran earlier this month, saying the service would help break what they described as a Saudi-imposed blockade on Yemen.
At a press conference on July 20, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the flight to Sanaa on July 13 was intended to take home a Houthi delegation who had come to attend the funeral of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Yemeni citizens who had received medical treatment in Iran.
The aircraft flew in on July 3 with around 200 people, including senior officials, women, and children, for the funeral but returned on July 13 also carrying IRGC commanders and advisers to Yemen.
The Saudi-backed government had struck the Sanaa airport, forcing the aircraft to divert to Houthi-controlled Hodeidah.
