Iraq helped convince Saudi Arabia to allow Iranian envoy to be airlifted out of Yemen

The Iranian diplomat was flown out of Yemen on an Iraqi flight, AFP reported.

Halgurd Sherwani 2021/12/22 12:27

Iranian ambassador Hassan Eyrlou attends a vigil in Sanaa to mark the one-year anniversary of the death of IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, Jan. 2, 2021. (Photo: Mohammed Huwais/AFP)

Middle East Yemen Iraq Saudi Arabia Hassan Eyrlou

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq was one of the countries that persuaded Saudi Arabia to allow a COVID-19 infected Iranian diplomat to be airlifted out of Yemen's capital.

The Saudi kingdom led an air, sea, and land blockade against its war-torn southern neighbor as part of its military campaign against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels there.

Iraq, along with Oman, convinced Riyadh to allow the Iranian envoy to Yemen, Hassan Eyrlou, to be airlifted out of the country. However, despite their successful efforts, Eyrlou died of COVID-19 in Iran, AFP reported on Wednesday.

"Martyr Eyrlou, who was also wounded in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, fell victim to Covid in the country where he was assigned, because of the slow cooperation of certain countries," Saeed Khatibzadeh, the Iranian foreign ministry's spokesperson, said in a statement.

The Iranian diplomat was flown out of Yemen on an Iraqi flight, AFP reported.

Iraqi officials have not yet commented on the country's role in convincing Saudi Arabia to allow that flight to leave Yemen.