US and French naval forces intercept a shipment of weapons from Iran to Yemen

Europe, Middle East, News, US February 3, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

The U.S. and French naval forces conducted a joint operation to seize thousands of assault rifles, machine guns, and anti-tank missiles headed from Iran to Yemen. According to a press release by the U.S. military’s Central Command, the weapons were meant for Houthi rebels.

The operation was conducted in January, however, it was not until February 1, 2023, that the U.S. military’s Central Command released official details about the operation.

The interdiction took place in the Gulf of Oman on January 15, 2023, along routes historically used to traffic weapons unlawfully from Iran to Yemen. More than 3,000 assault rifles, 578,000 rounds of ammunition, and 23 advanced anti-tank guided missiles were recovered.

U.S. military’s Central Command has partnered with French naval forces to conduct regional maritime security operations in the region. According to the statement, the seizure of weapons is one of the four most significant illicit cargo interdictions over the past two months that have prevented more than 5,000 weapons and 1.6 million rounds of ammunition from reaching Yemen.

The announcement comes only a few days after regional tensions increased as a suspected Israeli drone attack on a military workshop in the central Iranian city of Isfahan. Iran did not immediately acknowledge the seizure.

*^{Assault rifles and missiles seized by the French navy lay on the deck of a ship at an undisclosed location. (Image Credit: Twitter/US CENTCOM)}*

The U.S. military Central Command’s statement says that its interception operations in the region have prevented 9,000 illegal weapons from reaching Yemen, representing a 200% increase in the number of weapons seized over the previous year.

In 2022, CENTCOM Maritime assets and partner forces seized weapons components for the same type of cruise missiles launched in attacks against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates earlier in the year. In December 2022, U.S. naval forces also seized explosive precursor materials that included 140 tons of urea fertilizer, 70 tons of ammonium perchlorate, and 50 tons of ammunition rounds, fuses, and propellants for rockets.

The French military has not released any comments about capturing the weapons. France maintains a naval base in Abu Dhabi, and it typically takes a quieter approach in the region while maintaining diplomatic relations with Iran.

The war in Yemen has deteriorated into a deadlock and spawned one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. However, Saudi-led air attacks have not been recorded in Yemen since the kingdom began a ceasefire at the end of March 2022. Iran has long denied arming the Houthis, though Western nations, UN experts, and others have traced weaponry ranging from night-vision scopes, rifles, and missiles back to Tehran.