Beirut (South24)

The Yemeni Embassy in Beirut denied on Thursday any official or diplomatic status for a Yemeni national arrested by Lebanese authorities on Tuesday, June 10, on charges of collaborating with Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. The statement came in response to media reports linking the detained individual to the Yemeni embassy. Lebanon 24 reported that the suspect is a senior figure in the Houthi group.

In an official statement, the embassy affirmed that the detainee “is not part of the diplomatic or administrative staff of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.” It clarified that the individual’s contact with the embassy was “based on claims not supported by any official documentation,” noting that the embassy had notified the relevant Lebanese authorities “in adherence to legal and diplomatic responsibilities” - suggesting that it had raised suspicions about him prior to the arrest.

The embassy’s statement followed reports by Lebanese media outlets and Yemeni activists regarding the arrest of a man identified as Moqbil Amer Hassan, who was described in some reports as a Houthi official allegedly serving as a liaison between the Iran-aligned group and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

The Houthi group has not yet issued an official comment on the circulating reports.

According to media reports, the individual allegedly entered Lebanon on March 4, 2025, carrying a purported official document identifying him as an “advisor at the Yemeni embassy in Beirut” representing the internationally recognized government.

Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat quoted a Lebanese judicial source stating that the arrest took place in Beirut last week. The source said the suspect had arrived in the Lebanese capital approximately two months prior and was staying at a hotel. He reportedly attempted to enter the Yemeni embassy last week to meet the ambassador, but was denied entry by security personnel, leading to a verbal altercation in which he insulted the guards. As a result, the guards detained him and confiscated his mobile phone.

According to the newspaper, an examination of the phone revealed repeated communications with Israeli phone numbers. The embassy guards subsequently notified the Lebanese Military Prosecutor’s Office, which ordered his arrest.

The newspaper reported that the suspect confessed during interrogations to working for the Israeli Mossad and providing them with information about the Houthi group in Yemen.

Asharq Al-Awsat added that the detainee is originally from the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa, and that after relocating to Beirut, “Mossad contacted him to collect intelligence on Houthi leaders present in Lebanon.”

The same source indicated that these developments come amid ongoing Israeli military operations targeting Houthi-linked sites in Yemen.

The Lebanese Military Prosecutor charged the suspect with “communicating with the Israeli enemy and spying for its benefit on Lebanese territory, and providing it with information that could harm state security.” He has been referred to the military investigative judge for further inquiry.