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 source 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 fighting a civil war against the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised Yemeni government for more than a decade and have launched missile and drone attacks on Gulf neighbours.

Iran’s foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment. Tehran has repeatedly denied providing the Houthis with missile capabilities.

Abdel Rahman al-Ahnomi, a Houthi media official who said he was aboard the plane, dismissed the allegations as “lies and fabrications”, saying all passengers were civilians.

The Houthis have also denied being an Iranian proxy and say they develop their own weapons.

Days later, Houthis announce Red Sea blockade

Three days after the flight arrived, Reuters reported that Tehran had asked the Houthis to be ready to close the Red Sea oil route if the United States struck Iranian power infrastructure, posing a fresh threat to global energy supplies.

On Monday, the Houthis announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia in response to the July 13 bombing of Sanaa airport, which they blamed on Saudi Arabia. The move effectively ended a four-year truce between Riyadh and the Houthis.

The threat 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 transfer of IRGC personnel and equipment in a telephone interview with Reuters, 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.

Missile and drone components on board

Mzahem Alsaloum, a security and intelligence analyst who has tracked the Houthis and other Iranian-backed groups for years, also confirmed the arrival of IRGC experts on the July 13 flight.

He said some of the cargo included components for short- and medium-range missiles and drones, similar to weapons previously used in attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

According to Alsaloum, Tehran also sent military advisers to Yemen during last year’s war with Israel through Somalia, a claim denied by Iran.

The Houthis 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.

At a press conference in Tehran on July 20, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the July 13 flight was intended to return a Houthi delegation that had travelled to Tehran for the funeral of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with Yemeni citizens who had received medical treatment in Iran.

On July 3, the aircraft flew about 200 people, including senior officials, women and children, to Iran for the funeral.

The four sources said the plane returned to Yemen on July 13 carrying members of the delegation as well as IRGC commanders and advisers. Before it could land in Sanaa, the Saudi-backed government struck the airport, forcing the aircraft to divert to Houthi-controlled Hodeidah.

The Houthi military said the Saudi warplanes that carried out the airport attack were forced to leave Yemeni airspace.