[06/07/2026 02:36]

RIYADH - SABA

His Excellency President Dr. Rashad al-Alimi, Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, called for a firmer international response to Iran's blatant interference in Yemen, following the Iranian regime's operation of a flight belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to Sana'a Airport, which is under the control of the Houthi terrorist militias. He described the flight as a clear violation of Yemen's sovereignty and a blatant breach of international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Speaking during a meeting on Monday with ambassadors of the countries sponsoring the Yemeni political process, President al-Alimi urged the international community to strictly enforce UN Security Council resolutions and sanctions, particularly by preventing the use of civilian aircraft, airports, and seaports to transport military experts or equipment. He also called for tighter oversight of financial and smuggling networks linked to the terrorist militias.

The PLC Chairman stressed the need for an international investigation into Iran's violations, including the cargo carried by the IRGC aircraft, which reportedly switched off its tracking system while flying over Yemeni airspace.

He further called for tougher sanctions against the Houthi militias as a peaceful means of enforcing international legitimacy, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 2216, while urging greater political and economic support for the Yemeni government as a trusted partner in restoring state institutions, achieving peace, protecting international waterways, and combating terrorism and organized crime.

President al-Alimi said Yemen was asking the international community only to defend the principles upon which the international order was founded. He warned that if armed groups were allowed to defy UN Security Council resolutions, violate sanctions, use civilian aviation as cover for transporting military expertise, and threaten global energy security, international navigation, and the world economy without facing consequences, the danger would extend well beyond Yemen.

He said the Yemeni issue was no longer merely an internal conflict but had become a direct challenge to the international order and the global economy, which he said had become hostage to the calculations of Iran-backed militias in the region.

The President described the latest Iranian violation as a dangerous escalation and a deliberate attempt to test the international community's ability to enforce its resolutions, undermine the sanctions regime, and impose a new reality by force.

He stressed that Yemen regarded these developments as an issue affecting both its national sovereignty and the credibility of the international system, warning that ignoring such violations would encourage their repetition and weaken the authority of UN Security Council resolutions.

President al-Alimi said preliminary information contradicted the Houthi claim that the flight was humanitarian in nature. According to available reports, the aircraft transported Iranian military and security personnel, specialists in drone and missile technologies, electronic and communications equipment with potential command-and-control applications, and Yemeni personnel who had undergone security training in Iran.

He added that concerns extended beyond the passengers and cargo, noting that the aircraft repeatedly disappeared from flight tracking systems while crossing Yemeni airspace, conduct inconsistent with claims that it was a humanitarian mission and one that warranted an independent international investigation.

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