SANAA: A first Iranian flight landed in the Yemeni capital on Sunday, a day after officials from the Shia militia-controlled city signed an aviation agreement with Tehran.

The Mahan Air plane arrived in Sanaa carrying a team from the Iranian Red Crescent and medical aid, an aviation official said.

Senior Iranian diplomats were on hand to welcome the flight — the first between the two countries in many years.

Yemen’s official Saba news agency, which is controlled by the Shia militiamen who overran Sanaa in September, said Mahan Air and Yemenia would each operate 14 weekly flights under the accord.

Western-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who last weekend escaped house arrest by the Huthis in Sanaa, slammed the agreement as “illegal”, according to an aide.

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2015

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