Iran has rejected allegations that it is using commercial flights to transfer military personnel or equipment to Yemen, saying its flights to Sanaa are conducted for humanitarian purposes.
Gholamhossein Darzi, Iran’s deputy representative to the United Nations, made the statement in a letter to the UN secretary-general and the president of the Security Council.
Darzi rejected U.S. accusations that Iran is contributing to instability in Yemen and using Iranian commercial flights to transport military personnel or equipment to Sanaa.
He pointed to the humanitarian consequences of prolonged restrictions on Sanaa International Airport and said Iranian flights to the Yemeni capital were intended to address humanitarian needs.
The dispute comes amid continuing tensions between Iran and Yemen’s internationally recognized government over flights from Tehran to Sanaa.
About a month ago, Yemen’s government based in Aden, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, targeted Sanaa airport in an effort to prevent an Iranian Mahan Air aircraft from landing there.
The Yemeni government considers Iranian flights to Sanaa a violation of its airspace, while the Iran-aligned Houthi movement rejects the restrictions imposed on air traffic to the capital and describes them as unlawful.
Iran and the Houthis have maintained that Iranian flights to Sanaa will continue.
In its communication to the United Nations, Tehran reiterated that the flights are humanitarian in nature and categorically denied using commercial Iranian aircraft to transport military personnel or equipment.
However, the dispute over the purpose and nature of these flights remains part of the broader confrontation surrounding Yemen, where the Houthis continue to oppose the government based in Aden and where regional tensions involving Iran and its rivals remain a major factor.
The competing claims have not been independently resolved, leaving the status and purpose of Iranian commercial flights to Sanaa at the center of an ongoing political and security dispute.
