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Ship carrying weapons for Yemeni rebels seized – US Navy — Analysis

The US Navy said it has intercepted a “stateless” vessel carrying a major illegal shipment of weapons to civil war-torn Yemen. According to the Navy, this ship was from Iran.

After US Navy patrol coast ships USS Tempest, USS Typhoon and USS Tempest boarded a fishing ship in the Arabian Sea’s northern portion on Monday, they discovered a cache of approximately 1400 AK-47 assault rifles along with 266,000 rounds ammunition.

It was determined that the stateless vessel originated in Iran, and traveled through international waters via a route used historically to transport weapons to the Houthis of Yemen.

The ship’s crew of five identified themselves as Yemeni nationals and will be returned to Yemen, the Navy said. They seized the weapons, but the ship was not. “a hazard to navigation for commercial shipping”It was sink.

2015 saw the UN Security Council ban the supply of weapons to Houthi rebels. US-led coalition led by Saudi Arabia fighting alongside the ousted Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi has repeatedly denied Iran sending weapons to Houthis.

Tehran has not yet commented on the capture of the vessel in the Arabian Sea. However, Tehran denied that it had ever attempted to smuggle weapons into Yemen. 

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