Yemen Monitor / Marib / Agencies:
U.S. forces on Jan. 28 seized a ship originating in Iran, loaded with missiles and drones, and destined for Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the Pentagon revealed Thursday as it blamed the regime in Tehran for aiding the Houthis in their continued targeting of commercial ships in the region.
Photos posted online by CENTCOM, the United States command in the Middle East, show a United States Coast Guard ship beside a rusty skiff vessel on January 28. Another photo showed the cache of contraband that was found on board.
The weaponry included materials necessary for ballistic missiles, anti tank rockets and explosives as well as communication equipment.
A statement from CENTCOM described the haul as ‘lethal aid originating in Iran .’ According to the command, the shipment was in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2216.
The American mission appears to have been similar to another January operation in which two Navy SEALs died at sea when boarding an Iranian ship in the Arabian Sea. That ship also was destined for Yemen, officials said.
U.S. Central Command said that a Navy fast-response cutter identified the vessel in the Red Sea and troops quickly boarded it. They discovered more than 200 packages filled with ballistic missile components, explosives, sea and land drones, communications and network equipment, anti-tank guided missile launcher assemblies, and other weapons and equipment.
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“This is yet another example of Iran’s malign activity in the region,” Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, CENTCOM commander, said in a statement. “Their continued supply of advanced conventional weapons to the Houthis is in direct violation of international law and continues to undermine the safety of international shipping and the free flow of commerce.”
There has so far been no comment from Iranian officials on the seizure.
Just a day before this seizure, a British warship shot down a Houthi drone in a Red Sea skirmish.
A week before, two Navy SEALS were declared lost at sea after a 10-day search. The two went missing as they attempted to board a ship that was smuggling Iranian weapons.
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