Iran's Foreign Ministry has announced that its Ambassador to Yemen, Hassan Irloo, has passed away from COVID19 complications, following his delayed reparation earlier this week from Yemen.

Irloo was due to return earlier for treatment, but delays in cooperation for his evacuation from the war-torn country worsened his health condition.

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said the Ambassador was transferred to the country in a “bad state” due to the “late cooperation” of some countries, a reference to Saudi Arabia that only approved the flight following mediation by Iraq and Oman.

Irloo had contracted the virus at the Iranian mission in Sanaa and passed away early on Tuesday despite "undergoing all stages of treatment to improve his condition," Khatibzadeh said. The Ambassador was transferred from the Yemeni capital to Iran late on Saturday.

The late Ambassador is an Iran-Iraq war veteran, who had sustained injuries from chemical weapon attacks by Iraq. He began his diplomatic mission to Yemen following years of service at the Foreign Ministry and was sanctioned in December 2020 by former US President Donald Trump.

The Wall Street Journal had claimed on Friday that Irloo had no signs of COVID-19, and quoted Arab and Western officials as saying that the Ambassador was recalled to Tehran over "strains with the Ansarullah movement," prompting the Foreign Ministry to issue a statement denying the report and stressing that Iran's relations with Sanaa remain strong.