Jeddah and Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iran’s ambassador to Sana’a and his deputy left for Tehran late on Monday—a step that has fueled speculation about whether the Islamic Republic will close its embassy in Yemen.

Iran’s foreign ministry on Tuesday denied claims it was considering closing its embassy in Sana’a, adding that its diplomatic mission will continue to operate as usual.

Marzieh Afkham, Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman, said Ambassador Hossein Niknam had returned to Tehran for annual vacation, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency.

According to analysts, the move represents “a preemptive step” by Iran following reports that Yemen’s exiled government is seriously considering severing diplomatic ties with Tehran.

A source close to the Yemeni government told Asharq Al-Awsat that the issue of severing diplomatic ties with Tehran has been on the table since unknown gunmen stormed the headquarters of Yemen’s embassy in Tehran earlier this year.

The return of the ambassador to Tehran coincides with remarks by Yemen’s exiled Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin in which he accused the Iranian embassy in Sana’a of functioning as “a Houthi operations room.”

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday, Yassin accused Tehran’s embassy of offering financial, strategic, and military advisory support to Yemen’s Shi’ite rebels who took over Sana’a in September, toppling the country’s internationally recognized government and placing senior government officials, including President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and his PM Khaled Bahah, under house arrest.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Mohamed Al-Qabati, a former advisor to Yemen’s PM, said the Iranian embassy in Sana’a “acts as a liaison between the Iranian government and the Houthi militia.”

“It has become a den for Iranian commanders and a military and intelligence information center,” Qabati said, maintaining that “the [Iranian] embassy staff has more powers than any other diplomats [in Sana’a.]”

Analysts have raised questions about the timing of the incident which coincides with reports that a large pro-government force, consisting of Hadi’s loyalists and Arab coalition troops, is preparing to enter the Houthi-held Sana’a.

Mohamed Saqr Al-Salmy, an expert on Iranian affairs, said Iran pulled its diplomats from Yemen after Hadi’s government obtained information about the significant role the Iranian ambassador to Yemen has played in the Houthis’ takeover of Sana’a.