AFP – 1 March 2015 – A first Iranian flight landed in the Yemeni capital on Sunday, a day after officials from the Shiite militia-controlled city signed an aviation agreement with Tehran.
Yemen’s official Saba news agency, which is controlled by the Shiite militiamen who overran Sanaa in September, said Mahan Air and Yemenia would each operate 14 weekly flights under the accord.
Western-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who last weekend escaped house arrest by the Huthis in Sanaa, slammed the agreement as “illegal,” according to an aide.
“Those who signed it will be held accountable,” Hadi said during a meeting with tribal chiefs in the southern city of Aden where he is now based.
Tehran has repeatedly been accused of backing the Huthi militia, also known as Ansarullah.
US Secretary of State John Kerry charged last week that “critical” support of the militia by Shiite-dominated Iran had “contributed” to the collapse of Yemen’s government.
It is well established and documented that the Iranian regime uses these flights to transfer weapons and mercenaries as it has been in Syria, analysts insist.