Exclusive: "Irloo" is a replacement for the commander of the Quds Force, who was killed by an American "drone" in the heart of the capital, Sanaa
English - Monday 07 December 2020 الساعة 08:42 am
Sanaa, NewsYemen, Exclusive:
Four Western sources confirmed to "NewsYemen" that Abd al-Redha Shahla’i, the prominent commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, was killed by a US drone strike in the capital, Sanaa.
Abd al-Redha Shahla’i, is the deputy commander of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards, the Iranian foreign task force specialized in unconventional warfare, he was carrying out its sabotage activity from the capital, Sana'a.
And the Arab and Yemeni press called him "Soleimani" Yemen.
Five years ago, Shahla’i became responsible for the Yemeni file in the Revolutionary Guards, and some even considered him the "free player" of the Revolutionary Guard in the Middle East. Most recently, his name appeared in Israeli reports that he leads a smuggling ring in Gaza, transporting weapons to the Houthi militia.
The four sources (a member of the Iranian opposition "the Mujahideen Khalq", an American official and an American journalist working for the US State Department, in addition to an Israeli official) said that Shahla’i was killed last September, in an American drone / raids in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, accompanied by Iranian and Lebanese experts.
A member of the PMOI, the "Iranian opposition" organization operating from exile, told NewsYemen that Israel shared the intelligence information that led to the assassination of Shahla'i. But the Israeli official denied that his country participated in the assassination in any way. He indicated that they heard information that he was killed.
However, the American official said, that the operation was coordinated between the coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and the United States, pointing out that his country "believes that he has been liquidated. However, he confirmed the occurrence of American raids on the capital, Sana'a, last September."
The US Central Command declined to comment.
The American official told NewsYemen that Hassan Irloo arrived in the capital, Sana'a, after (perhaps) Shahla’i was killed, which he considered an alternative Iranian leader, but this time with an "official capacity", as an "Iranian ambassador."
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman announced in a statement on October 17, 2020, that Hassan Irloo arrived in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, as "a new Iranian ambassador, extraordinary and full-fledged authority in Yemen."
The member of the "Iranian opposition" told NewsYemen: "Unfortunately, it was Oman that facilitated Erlo's entry to Yemen." He did not give further details about how Earlo entered the capital, Sanaa, or how Amman smuggled him.
However, the US official, who declined to be identified, said that the alleged Iranian ambassador to Yemen, Hassan Irloo, is a prominent leader in the Revolutionary Guards, who arrived from Iran to the capital, Muscat, and was then smuggled into Yemen with the help of Omani intelligence.
For her part, the American expert in national security affairs, Irina Tsukerman, told NewsYemen that Erlo entered Yemen via Oman, confirming the involvement of Omani intelligence in his smuggling.
"Without their direct intervention (Omani intelligence) that would not be possible," Tsukerman added.
The US State Department refused to comment on NewsYemen’s question about the Omani intelligence’s involvement in smuggling the Iranian ambassador, saying only that “the Houthi rebel group carries out sabotage acts under direct orders from the Iranian regime.
Last January, the United States attempted to assassinate Shahla’i by means of a drone strike, in conjunction with the assassination of Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, in a raid at Baghdad airport. And the US State Department has set a reward of $ 15 million, through the Rewards for Justice program, for any information about Shahla’i’s whereabouts.
The raid launched by Washington on Sanaa, where Shahla’i was, failed to kill him, but it led to the liquidation of Muhammad Mirza, from the Revolutionary Guard Army, to be the first combat death recognized by the Quds Force in Yemen.
