Iran flies IRGC commanders, missile gear to Houthis

Iran flew Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, military advisers and missile- and drone-related equipment into Yemen this month, according to four sources, in a move that suggests Tehran is seeking to strengthen the ability of its Houthi allies to threaten Red Sea shipping.
Four sources familiar with the matter, including two Iranian sources, Yemen's information minister and a regional security analyst, said Iran transferred the IRGC personnel and military-related equipment on a flight from Tehran to Yemen on 13 July, a development that has not been previously reported.
The two Iranian sources told Reuters 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 diverted to the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah after the airport came under attack by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.
"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 two Iranian sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.
The deployment offers fresh evidence of Iran's efforts to bolster 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 with missiles and drones.
Iran's foreign ministry was not immediately available to comment. Tehran has repeatedly denied providing the Houthi movement in Yemen with missile capabilities.
There was no immediate response to requests for comment sent to two Houthi officials. The group has previously denied being an Iranian proxy and has said it develops its own weapons.
Three days after the flight arrived in Yemen, Reuters reported that Tehran had asked the Houthi movement to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route if the US struck Iranian power infrastructure, posing a new threat to global energy supplies.
On Monday, the group, whose area of control in Yemen overlooks the waterway, announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia in response to the 13 July bombing of Sanaa airport, which they said was carried out by Saudi Arabia.
The moves signalled the end of a four-year truce between Riyadh and the Houthis. Their threat to one of the world's top maritime trade routes escalated further on Thursday when the group said it had attacked two Saudi oil tankers.
Moammar al-Iryani, information minister in Yemen's Saudi-backed government, confirmed the transfers of Guards personnel and equipment in a telephone interview with Reuters on Wednesday, citing intelligence.
"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.
Mzahem Alsaloum, a security and intelligence analyst who has tracked the Houthis and other Iranian-backed groups for years, also confirmed the IRGC experts' arrival on the 13 July flight.
He 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.
According to Alsaloum, Tehran also sent military advisers to Yemen during a war with Israel last year, routing them through Somalia, a claim that was denied by Tehran.
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.
US President Donald Trump promised on Thursday "major military punishment" for Iran and its Houthi allies, after the Yemeni fighters struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, extending the Middle East war to a second major shipping chokepoint.
The US House of Representatives narrowly passed its version of a massive defense policy bill on Wednesday, despite Democrats' concerns about its huge price tag, the Iran war and a provision that would boost Pentagon ties to Israel.
The Republican-led US House backed legislation on Thursday directing President Donald Trump to halt US military action against Iran, the latest symbolic rebuke of the Republican president from Congress.
The vote was 214-208 in favor of the war powers resolution as four Republicans joined Democrats in voting for it.
The fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which authorizes an unprecedented $1.15 trillion in spending for the military, passed the House by 216 to 212.