Iran flew commanders, missile gear to Houthi rebels in Yemen: report

Iran flew Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, military advisers and missile and drone gear into Yemen ahead of the overnight tanker attacks in the Red Sea, according to a new report.

Between 10 and 21 IRGC personnel, including senior commanders, flew from Tehran to Yemen on July 13, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

“The IRGC commanders travelled there to support Houthi operations and provide training on new missile systems,” ​one of the sources said, adding that Iran also sent gold on the aircraft to fund Houthi activities.

The plane was reportedly the same one that Yemen’s Saudi-backed government attacked when it attempted to land at the Sanaa airport.

The Houthis initially claimed at the time that the plane was merely carrying a delegation returning from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral in Iran, but Yemen’s government accused the aircraft of violating the country’s airspace.

The plane was eventually able to land in the Houthi-controlled Hodeidah airport, sparking attacks between the rebel group and Saudi Arabia that culminated in the terrorist group declaring a blockade on the kingdom’s ports.

Houthi officials denied the allegations that the plane was carrying anything but civilians as “lies and fabrications.”

Moammar al-Iryani, information minister in Yemen’s Saudi-backed government, however, said the country’s intelligence confirms the transfer of military experts and equipment on the July 13 flight.

“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.

The Houthi terror group has just done that after it attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea on Wednesday.

The rebels’ attacks and warnings have already caused several ships to turn back along the critical trade route, which threatens to extend Iran’s grip on the global oil supply beyond the Strait of Hormuz.

With Brent crude oil surging past $100 a barrel for the first time since May, President Trump vowed to hold Iran accountable for any more attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea.

“Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves, who I am very disappointed with,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

With Post Wires