Iran flew commanders of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), military advisers, and missile- and drone-related equipment into Yemen earlier this month in an apparent effort to strengthen the military capabilities of its Houthi allies and expand their ability to threaten shipping in the Red Sea, according to four sources familiar with the operation.
The sources, including two Iranian officials, Yemen’s Information Minister, Moammar al-Iryani, and regional security analyst Mzahem Alsaloum, told Reuters that the personnel and equipment were transported aboard a Mahan Air flight that departed Tehran on July 13.
According to the two Iranian sources, between 10 and 21 IRGC personnel, including senior commanders, were on board the aircraft. The flight was originally scheduled to land in the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa, but was diverted to the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah after Sanaa airport came under attack by forces aligned with Yemen’s Saudi-backed government.
“The IRGC commanders travelled there to support Houthi operations and provide training on new missile systems,” one of the Iranian sources said.
The source further alleged that Iran also transported gold aboard the aircraft to finance Houthi activities.
The deployment provides fresh evidence of what regional officials and analysts describe as Tehran’s continuing efforts to strengthen the Houthis, who have fought Yemen’s internationally recognised, Saudi-backed government for more than a decade and have repeatedly launched missile and drone attacks against Gulf states and commercial shipping.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Tehran has consistently denied supplying the Houthis with missile capabilities or directing the group’s military operations.
The Houthis also rejected the allegations.
Abdel Rahman al-Ahnomi, a Houthi media official who said he was aboard the July 13 flight, dismissed the claims as “lies and fabrications,” insisting that all passengers were civilians.
The group has long denied acting as an Iranian proxy, maintaining that it develops its own weapons domestically.
The reported deployment came just days before a series of escalatory moves by the Houthis in the Red Sea.
Three days after the aircraft arrived in Yemen, Reuters reported that Tehran had instructed the Houthi movement to prepare to close the Red Sea oil shipping route if the United States targeted Iranian power infrastructure, raising concerns over global energy supplies.
On Monday, the Houthis announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia, saying the move was in retaliation for the July 13 bombing of Sanaa airport, which they blamed on Saudi Arabia.
The announcement effectively signalled the collapse of a four-year truce between Riyadh and the Houthis. The confrontation intensified further on Thursday when the group claimed responsibility for attacks on two Saudi oil tankers operating in the Red Sea.
Yemen’s Information Minister, Moammar al-Iryani, confirmed the transfer of IRGC personnel and military equipment, saying intelligence gathered by the Saudi-backed government supported the claims.
“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,” al-Iryani said.
Regional security and intelligence analyst Mzahem Alsaloum, who has monitored Houthi and Iranian-backed militant activities for years, also confirmed the arrival of the IRGC experts on the July 13 flight.
According to Alsaloum, part of the aircraft’s cargo included components for short- and medium-range missiles as well as drone systems similar to those previously used in attacks against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
He also alleged that Tehran deployed military advisers to Yemen during last year’s conflict with Israel by routing them through Somalia, an accusation previously rejected by Iranian authorities.
Earlier this month, the Houthis announced the resumption of direct commercial flights between Tehran and Sanaa, describing the service as a step towards breaking what they called a Saudi-imposed blockade on Yemen.
Speaking at a press conference in Tehran on July 20, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the July 13 flight was intended to return a Houthi delegation that had travelled to Iran for the funeral of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Yemeni citizens who had received medical treatment in Iran.
According to the four sources, the aircraft had transported about 200 people, including senior Houthi officials, women and children, from Yemen to Iran on July 3 for the funeral. On its return journey on July 13, the aircraft allegedly carried members of the delegation back to Yemen alongside IRGC commanders, military advisers and equipment.
Before it could land in Sanaa, however, the Saudi-backed Yemeni government launched an airstrike on the airport, forcing the aircraft to divert to Houthi-controlled Hodeidah.
The Houthi military later claimed that Saudi warplanes involved in the attack were forced to withdraw from Yemeni airspace.
Boluwatife Enome
Follow us on:
