Iran sent IRGC personnel and equipment to Yemen before Houthi attacks.
Iran denied military involvement, saying the flight carried civilians and Houthi delegates.
Red Sea tensions escalated after Houthi attacks on two Saudi oil tankers.
Iran transferred Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, military advisers and missile and drone-related equipment into Yemen on July 13, just days before the Houthis announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia and attacked two oil tankers in the Red Sea, four sources including two Iranian sources, Yemen's information minister and a regional security analyst told Reuters.
The personnel and cargo travelled on a Mahan Air flight from Tehran, originally bound for the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa but diverted to the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah after the Saudi-backed Yemeni government struck Sanaa airport before the plane could land, the news agency said.
Between 10 and 21 IRGC personnel were on board, including senior commanders, according to the two Iranian sources who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. One source said the commanders had travelled to support Houthi operations and provide training on new missile systems, and that Iran had also sent gold on the aircraft to fund Houthi activities. A security analyst familiar with the flight 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 UAE.
Three days after the flight arrived, Tehran asked the Houthis to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route if the US struck Iranian power infrastructure. The Houthis then announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia on Monday, citing the July 13 bombing of Sanaa airport, and on Thursday claimed attacks on two Saudi oil tankers, the Encelia and the Layla, causing fires on both vessels.
Tehran Offers a Different Account
Iran's Foreign Ministry offered a contrasting explanation for the flight. Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said at a press conference in Tehran on July 20 that the aircraft had been returning a Houthi delegation that had travelled to Iran for the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with Yemeni citizens who had received medical treatment in Iran. On July 3, the plane had carried roughly 200 people including senior officials, women and children to Tehran for the funeral. On July, the sources said, it returned carrying both members of that delegation and the IRGC commanders.
A Houthi media official who said he was aboard the plane denied that Iran had sent military experts, describing the allegations as "lies and fabrications" and saying all passengers were civilians. Tehran has repeatedly denied providing the Houthi movement with missile capabilities, and the Houthis have long maintained that they develop their own weapons independently.
Yemen's information minister in the Saudi-backed government, Moammar al-Iryani, confirmed the transfer of IRGC personnel and equipment, telling Reuters the mission was to "strengthen the militias' military capabilities and prepare them to threaten international maritime security in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait." The development signals the effective end of a four-year truce between Riyadh and the Houthis, and raises fresh concerns about the security of one of the world's most critical maritime trade routes.
