Iran has acquired a fleet of Boeing 777 aircraft directly through the Saudi government.

The former Saudi aircraft have appeared at Iranian airports over the past few days after being repainted in a new livery. One of the aircraft reportedly flew to the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, inaugurating a direct air route between Tehran and Sana’a.

Meanwhile, Saudi state media are promoting claims that an intermediary company based in the United Arab Emirates, rather than the Saudi government, sold the Saudi aircraft to Iran after purchasing them from Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabian Airlines issued a statement shortly beforehand, saying that it had sold a number of aircraft to a company outside Saudi Arabia, and that this company subsequently resold the aircraft to Iran, which is subject to US sanctions.