The Yemenis fighting Houthi rebels in the southern Yemeni city of Aden said they captured two Iranian military officers, during fighting on Friday evening, Reuters reported.
The local Yemenis said they were from an elite unit of the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).
Three sources said the Iranian IRGC officers, identified as a colonel and a captain, were seized in two different districts that have been rocked with heavy gun battles.
“The initial investigation revealed that they are from the Quds Force and are working as advisors to the Houthi militia,” one of the militia sources told Reuters.
“They have been put in a safe place and we will turn them over to Decisive Storm to deal with them,” the source added.
The reports on capturing members of the Iranian regime’s Quds force comes after the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, said on Tuesday that the U.S. will not stand by while the Iranian regime provides support to Houthi rebels who have seized much of Yemen.
“There have been — there are, obviously — flights coming from Iran. Every single week there are flights from Iran and we’ve traced it and know this,” Kerry told PBS Television in an interview.
“Iran needs to recognize that the United States is not going to stand by while the region is destabilized or while people engage in overt warfare across lines, international boundaries in other countries.”
A coalition of largely Arab and Islamic countries, led by Saudi Arabia, has been waging an air campaign against the Houthi rebels funded and supported by the Iranian regime that have seized control of large parts of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa.
Kerry said Washington was not looking for confrontation with Tehran.
“But we’re not going to step away from our alliances and our friendships and the need to stand with those who feel threatened as a consequence of the choices that Iran might be making.”
