US seizes massive stash of Iranian weapons headed for Houthi rebels in Yemen including hundreds of ballistic missile parts and explosives being shipped over on a rusty skiff in the Arabian Sea
- A statement from US officials called the loot “deadly aid originating in Iran”
US forces operating in the Arabian Sea have seized a massive arsenal of Iranian weapons destined for Houthi rebels in Yemen, officials said Thursday. The weapons were found on January 28.
Photos posted online by CENTCOM, the US command in the Middle East, show a US Coast Guard ship next to a rusty skiff ship. Another photo showed the cached contraband found on board.
The weapons include medium-range ballistic missile components, explosives, unmanned underwater/surface vehicle (UUV/USV) components, military-grade communications and networking equipment, anti-tank guided missile launchers and other military components.
A CENTCOM statement described the loot as “lethal aid originating in Iran.” The order said the shipment violated UN Security Council Resolution 2216.
“This is yet another example of Iran’s malign activities in the region. Their continued supply of advanced conventional weapons to the Houthis is a direct violation of international law and continues to undermine the security of international shipping and the free flow of trade,” said CENTCOM Commander General Michael Erik Kurilla.
USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr pictured next to the rusty skiff
The loot included medium-range ballistic missile components, explosives and unmanned underwater/surface vehicle (UUV/USV) components.
The Houthis began shooting at US military and commercial ships after a deadly explosion at Gaza’s Al-Ahli hospital on October 17, a few days after the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas.
The rebels have said they will continue to fire on commercial and military ships passing through the region until Israel ceases its military operations in Gaza.
As of Wednesday, the carrier strike group, which includes the cruiser USS Eisenhower, USS Philippine Sea, the destroyers USS Mason and Gravely and additional U.S. Navy assets in the region including the destroyers USS Laboon and USS Carney, has conducted more than 95 interceptions of aircraft. drones, anti-ship ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles and carried out more than 240 self-defense attacks on more than 50 Houthi targets.
Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said on Tuesday that Israeli ships have been unable to pass through the Gulf of Aden over the past week.
“The Americans and the British have failed to secure the passage of any ship bound for Israel. They were unable to protect these ships. They can no longer even protect US-British ships, and this is a real and great victory for us,” he said in a televised address.
Houthi militants, who control Yemen’s most populous regions, have repeatedly shot at international commercial ships since mid-November.
According to shipping and insurance sources, their targets were ships with commercial ties to the United States, Britain or Israel.
“The Israeli, American and British agenda seeks to end the Palestinian issue,” al-Houthi said. Houthi operations in the Red Sea, he said, were “legitimate to help support the people of Gaza and lift the siege imposed on them.”
The Houthis say they have targeted the shipping in solidarity with the Palestinians over the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
The attacks have prompted several companies to halt trips to the Red Sea in favor of a longer and more expensive route around the African continent, and US and British warplanes have carried out retaliatory strikes across Yemen.