US Navy seizes weapons shipment from Iran to Yemen’s Houthi
The US Navy seized yesterday an Iranian shipment of weapons that was on its way to the Houthi terrorist militia in Yemen, loaded on board an unknown fishing vessel, which does not carry the flag of any country in the North Arabian Sea, and carrying Yemeni persons.
The shipment included 1,400 AK-47s and 226,000 ammunition, US Fifth Corps said in a statement reported by CNN, adding that the Navy and Coast Guard detained the weapons to be destroyed according to regulations.
Fifth Corps said: “it followed the ship, which does not belong to any country, and which left Iran and entered international waters, through a line that has been used historically to smuggle weapons illegally to the Houthis in Yemen”, it said, adding that he detained the ship during a flag check on the fishing vessel.
“Direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of arms to the Houthis violates UN Security Council resolutions and US sanctions”, it said.
The American Navy statement continued: “Following the seizure of the cargo and the ship’s crew, the US Navy decided to sink the ship; they pose a threat to navigation and commercial shipping”.
On December 5, US officials said: A U.S. Navy warship in the northern Arabian Sea seized a large weapons shipment inside a boat containing Iranian missile parts that were headed for Houthi militias in Yemen.
In May, the Combined Maritime and Coast Guard seized large quantities of weapons in the same area, including anti-tank guided missiles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and others.
In February, an Iranian arms shipment was seized in the Arabian Sea, including thousands of AK-47 assault rifles, light machine guns, heavy sniper rifles, and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
Tehran has stepped up its arms smuggling to the Houthis, and the repeated seizure of smuggled arms shipments is prominent evidence of the more than two decades-long flow of arms to the militias and Iran’s violation of the embargo imposed by UN Security Council Resolution 2216.
