Iranian Ambassador Arrives in Houthi-Controlled Yemen Capital

Iran's new ambassador arrived in the Yemeni capital Sana’a on October 14, the first time an Iranian diplomat had been sent to the country in five years. IranWire has learned that Hassan Eyrlou arrived three days earlier than the Iranian foreign ministry official announcement had stated, which had given the date of his arrival as October 17. Iran is the only country with diplomatic ties to the Houthis, who currently control the capital.

An anonymous source with close links to the Houthi group Ansarallah said Hassan Eyrlou arrived in the country on an Oman Air flight, mediated by Omani and American officials. The airline has previously transported wounded Houthis stranded in Oman and Lebanon.

On October 17, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh announced Eyrlou’s arrival and said in the coming days he would present his credentials to Hisham Sharaf, the foreign minister in the Ansarallah government, and to Mahdi Al-Mashat, president of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen. The announcement was published by the semi-official government outlet Fars News Agency.

The Houthi National Salvation Government in Yemen appointed Ibrahim Mohammad Al-Dailami as the Iranian ambassador in 2019, describing him as an "extraordinary" official with "absolute authority.” But Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told Fars News that there had been "certain problems” including “attacks made on the embassy’s perimeter,” which he said meant “efforts to matters have been somewhat hampered,” a likely suggestion that joint plans to further secure the Houthis’ power in Yemen had not been as successful as the Houthis and their Iranian supporters had hoped.

In addition to Al-Dailami in Tehran, the Houthis have another ambassador in the Syrian capital, Damascus.