Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
The Houthi group has acknowledged the arrival of an Iranian civilian aircraft at Sana’a International Airport, saying it transported more than 200 patients and stranded Yemeni citizens to the country before departing with a delegation of senior Houthi officials bound for Tehran to attend the funeral of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike on February 28.
Houthi-affiliated media reported that the delegation arrived in Tehran under the leadership of Mohammed Al-Nuaimi, a member of the group’s Supreme Political Council, to participate in Khamenei’s funeral ceremonies.
Meanwhile, aviation and media sources claimed that the Iranian flight to Sana’a Airport was carried out under the coordination and supervision of the coalition, although the coalition has not issued any official comment regarding those claims.
According to the sources, the aircraft—operated by Mahan Air and bearing flight number IRM1199—departed from Tehran International Airport for Sana’a before returning to Iran after evacuating a number of patients and stranded passengers, as well as transporting a Houthi delegation and its accompanying aides.
As official funeral ceremonies began in Tehran on Friday, widely circulated videos showed several Houthi leaders participating in the procession and paying their respects before Khamenei’s body.
No official Yemeni authority has issued a statement clarifying the nature of the flight or the legal basis on which the Iranian aircraft was permitted to enter Yemeni airspace and land at Sana’a International Airport, which has been subject to strict aviation restrictions for years.
Likewise, the Saudi-led coalition has not commented on reports alleging that it authorized the Iranian aircraft to land in Sana’a or on claims by aviation sources that it supervised coordination of the flight.
