Iran’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that an ambassador to Yemen, Hassan Irloo, had arrived in Sanaa. The Yemeni government asserted that Tehran had “clandestinely dispatched a figure… joining the ranks of Hizbollah and IRGC who have already entered the country with nefarious intentions”, and also declared that it “does not recognise the presence of any diplomatic officials present in Sanaa aligned with the Iran-backed Huthis”. On 21 October, the U.S. diplomatic spokesperson argued that “the Iranian regime smuggled… an IRGC member tied to Lebanese Hizbollah, into Yemen under the guise of ‘Ambassador’ to the Huthi militia. Iran’s intent to use the Huthis to expand its malign influence is clear. The Yemeni people should say no to Irloo and Iran”.