RICHMOND, Va. — Four foreigners were charged Thursday with carrying suspected Iranian-made weapons on a ship intercepted by US naval forces in the Arabian Sea last month. Two Navy SEALs died during the mission.
U.S. officials said Christopher J. Chambers, Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class, boarded the boat on Jan. 11 and slipped into the gap created by high waves between the ship and the SEALs’ combat craft . When Chambers fell, Nathan Gage Ingram, Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class, jumped in to save him, according to U.S. officials briefed on what happened.
The indictment unsealed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Richmond alleges the four suspects were believed to be carrying Iranian-made missile parts for the type of weapons used by the Houthi rebels in recent attacks.
“The flow of missiles and other advanced weaponry from Iran to the Houthi rebels in Yemen threatens the people and interests of America and our partners in the region,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a press release.
“Two Navy SEALs tragically lost their lives in the operation that countered the defendants charged today for allegedly smuggling Iranian-made weapons that the Houthis could have used to target U.S. forces and disrupt freedom of navigation and threaten a vital trade artery,” Monaco said.
Muhammad Pahlawan is accused of attempting to smuggle advanced missile components, including a nuclear warhead that he is accused of knowing would be used by the Houthi rebels against commercial and naval vessels in the Red Sea and surrounding waters. He is also accused of providing false information to U.S. Coast Guard officers while boarding the ship.
Pahlawan’s co-defendants – Mohammad Mazhar, Ghufran Ullah and Izhar Muhammad – were also charged with providing false information.