An unidentified aircraft landed this morning at Sanaa International Airport, according to local eyewitnesses who claim it belongs to the US-sanctioned Iranian airline Mahan Air. The company is accused of assisting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in transferring personnel and equipment, not just operating civilian flights.
Earlier today, at 12:04 Jerusalem, a series of reports began circulating about an Iranian aircraft landing at Sanaa International Airport. The initial report, cited by security analyst Yair Goldblatt from Yemeni sources, described an additional Iranian plane defying the Saudi-led air blockade. Within minutes, Israeli media outlet ynet reported that the flight was intended for a meeting with the Houthi movement. A third report, also from Goldblatt, identified the aircraft as a business jet carrying senior Iranian officials for a Houthi meeting. Now, fresh eyewitness accounts from Sanaa claim the aircraft belongs to Mahan Air, the US-sanctioned Iranian airline accused of supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The thread's corroboration evolved rapidly. The earliest report was unverified and attributed to unnamed Yemeni sources. The ynet report, while still unverified independently, added a specific purpose — a meeting with Houthis. The analyst's identification of a business jet with senior officials built on the earlier reports. The current identification by local eyewitnesses as a Mahan Air jet introduces a new detail but remains unverified, and the source of the identification is not on record.
This development follows a pattern of Iranian air operations to Houthi-controlled Yemen. As The Zioneer reported on July 6, a Mahan Air flight to Sanaa carried 200 injured individuals and a high-level Houthi delegation, breaching the Saudi-led air blockade. Mahan Air has been under US sanctions for providing material support to the IRGC, and its flights to Yemen have been a recurring point of tension.
Several questions remain open. The eyewitness identification of the aircraft as Mahan Air has not been independently confirmed. The earlier reports characterized the aircraft as a business jet; the current identification as a Mahan Air jet does not necessarily contradict that, as Mahan Air operates a variety of aircraft, but the specific type has not been confirmed. The aircraft's origin, flight path, and whether it indeed carried senior Iranian officials for a meeting have not been verified. The claims rely on a single set of eyewitnesses and analyst reports, without on-record confirmation from Yemeni or Iranian authorities.
4 developments
- StrongIranian Mahan Air flight to Sanaa carried 200 injured, Houthi delegation — report
- DevelopingUnidentified aircraft from UAE lands at Mehrabad Airport after special clearance, despite earlier flight suspension
- StrongTwo Saudi Boeing 777s transferred to Iran's Mahan Air spotted at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport
- DevelopingIranian Mahan Air plane diverts to Hodeida after Saudi strike on Sanaa runways
Source and signal
- Internal intake