US Lays Claim to Ammo Seized From Iran, Alleges ‘Sophisticated’ Iranian Smuggling Operation
The U.S. is seeking to keep fuses, fuel and more than one million rounds of ammunition seized from Iran in December, according to a Justice Department (DOJ) forfeiture complaint released Friday.
On Dec. 1, U.S. 5th fleet forces operating routinely in the Middle East discovered more than one million rounds of ammunition, nearly 7,000 proximity fuses for rockets and over 2,100 kilograms of rocket propellant disguised aboard a fishing trawler headed from Iran to Yemen, according to a statement. Friday’s forfeiture action, which means the U.S. will confiscate the weapons, is part of a larger investigation into a “sophisticated scheme” to “clandestinely ship weapons to entities that pose grave threats to U.S. national security,” DOJ said in a statement.
“The United States disrupted a major operation by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to smuggle weapons of war into the hands of a militant group in Yemen,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the statement. “The Justice Department will be relentless in holding accountable those who break our laws and threaten our national security.”
Providing weapons to the Houthi militants in Yemen violates international law and United Nations resolutions, according to the Navy. The Houthis, backed by Iran, have been waging a civil war against the Yemeni government and a Saudi-led, U.S.-backed international coalition since 2015, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Saudi Arabia has been accused of striking civilian targets and contributing to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The Houthis have in turn struck civilian sites in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, jeopardizing U.S. interests, according to the DOJ and U.S. military.
On Dec. 1, U.S. naval forces in the Middle East intercepted a fishing trawler smuggling more than 50 tons of ammunition rounds, fuses and propellants for rockets in the Gulf of Oman along a maritime route from Iran to Yemen.
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— U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet (@US5thFleet) December 3, 2022
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