Report: US seized sea shipment of Iranian missile parts on their way to Yemen
The US Navy raided a boat in the Arabian Sea carrying missile pieces aimed at the Houthi insurgents, the first time components of this size were caught. According to them, the incident demonstrates the illegal smuggling of weapons to the forces in Yemen. The incident comes as a result of the Netanyahu and Pompeo meeting on Iran
Report: US seized sea shipment of Iranian missile parts on their way to Yemen
Photo: Reuters, edited by Tal ResnikA US Navy battleship has seized "a significant delivery" of parts of Iranian missiles destined for the Houthi insurgents in Yemen - US officials said Wednesday, for the first time in captions of this magnitude on the way to war in the country. The missile pieces were seized by US Navy and Coast Guard crews raiding a small ship in the southern Arabian Sea in the Indian Ocean, and the weapons linked to Iran.
Officials said the incident demonstrates the prolongation of illegal weapons smuggling by Houthi insurgents. These smuggling violates UN Security Council resolutions. The incident comes as a result of the meeting of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Lisbon, which is primarily concerned with Iran.
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At the beginning of their meeting, Netanyahu said that "the first, second and third issues I will raise - will be Iran." He also said that US President Donald Trump "has implemented a consistent policy of pressure on Iran, which is trying to attack us from many places in the region and we are constantly engaged in dealing with this aggression. The United States is key in this deal." Netanyahu declined to comment on reports of an attack on an Iranian weapons warehouse, which according to local media was carried out at the airport near Al-Bochmal in the Syria-Iraq border area.
The United States has long blamed Iran for smuggling weapons as opposed to the law by the rebel forces fighting the Yemeni government, but so far it has managed to put its hands on less sophisticated weapons. According to US officials, the USS "Forrest Sherman" warship routinely visited when its sailors spotted the small wooden ship, which did not carry a flag of any state. The crews stopped the ship, boarded it and found the missile parts.
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To the full articleMissiles and aircraft of the Houthi rebels in Yemen, September (Photo: Reuters)
Missiles and Aircraft of the Houthi Rebels, Yemen, September 17, 2019 (Photo: Reuters)
The officials, who were interviewed anonymously in light of the sensitivity of these security issues, did not specify the number of missiles or parts, but described them as a significant delivery. According to them, the small ship was towed to the port and the people on board were transferred to the Yemeni Coast Guard. The weapons found are still in the hands of the American ship.
The Houthis, supported by Iran, took over the capital Sana'a in 2015 and ousted the government recognized by the international community. Since then, the Saudi coalition has intervened in Yemen and the Shiite rebels have lost most of their hold on the country's coastal strip, but they still control Hudaida, Yemen's largest red seaport that serves as a naval base of insurgent operations. A month ago, the Saudi coalition said Houthi forces had seized a vessel towing a South Korean drilling rig on the southern tip of the Red Sea.