Iran denies report its military advisers were captured in Yemen

Special to WorldTribune.com

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Iran has denied reports claiming that two Iranian military advisers were captured by local militiamen in Yemen’s southern city of Aden on April 10.

Houthis protest Saudi airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, on April 10. / AP
Houthis protest Saudi airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, on April 10. / AP

Iran’s Fars news agency quoted an unnamed Iranian foreign ministry source as saying on April 11 that the reports are not true as Iran has “no military force in Yemen.”

The reports said militiamen loyal to embattled Yemeni President Abd-Rabuu Mansour Hadi claimed they had captured two Iranians advising Shi’ite Huthi rebels.

The militiamen reportedly said the officers, identified as a colonel and a captain, were from an elite unit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Tehran denies providing military support for Huthi rebels, whose advances in Yemen have drawn Saudi-led air strikes.​

The purported detention comes amid escalating tensions between Saudi Arabia and its regional rival Iran over Yemen.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out “genocide” in Yemen.

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