Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi slammed on Monday Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) for operating a flight out of Sanaa airport.
Meeting with ambassadors of countries that are sponsoring the political process in Yemen, he said the flight was a violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and an act of “defiance of international laws and relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.”
The Iran-backed Houthis, who control Sanaa, claimed that the flight had a humanitarian purpose. Al-Alimi revealed, however, that reports indicate that military and security personnel, as well as experts in developing drones and rocket systems, were onboard.
He told the ambassadors that repeated cuts in aircraft tracing signals as the plane flew over Yemen contradict the Houthi claim that this was a humanitarian flight.
He urged an independent international probe to verify the purpose of the flight.
Moreover, he said the Mahan Air, which operated the flight, has been under international sanctions for years for providing logistic support to the IRGC.
Al-Alimi called for firmer international stances against “Iran’s flagrant meddling in Yemeni affairs and a strict implementation of Security Council resolutions and sanctions.”
He stressed that civilian flights and ports must not be used to transport military personnel and equipment.
Al-Alimi said that the stricter implementation of sanctions against the Houthi militias was a peaceful way to implement international resolutions. He also called for greater support to the legitimate Yemeni government, saying it was a “trusted partner in reviving state institutions, achieving peace, protecting waterways and combating terrorism and organized crimes.”
“Yemen is only asking that the international community defend the principles on which the international system is built on,” he went on to say.
“The threat will not stop at Yemeni borders should the armed factions get away with defying Security Council resolutions, violate sanctions, use civilian aircraft as cover for military operations, and threaten energy security and the global economy,” he warned.
“The issue in Yemen is today no longer an internal conflict, but a direct challenge to the international order and global economy that has become a hostage to the Iran’s militias in the region,” he stressed.
“The latest Iranian violation is a grave development and a deliberate attempt to test the international community’s ability to implement its decisions,” he added.
He accused Iran of seeking to shirk sanctions and impose a “new status quo by force”.
“As Iran continues to invest in militias and undermine the state, Saudi Arabia continues to invest in state institutions and development, improve Yemeni livelihoods and prepare the right conditions to achieve peace and stability in Yemen,” Al-Alimi said.
“The Yemeni republic harbors no animosity towards the Iranian people; it only seeks friendly relations between peoples. It, however, rejects the Iranian regime’s policies that are based on supporting militias and interfering in the internal affairs of nations,” he remarked.
