Exiled Yemen government claims to seize 750 tons of Iran-supplied Houthi weapons

Video of seizure appears to show anti-ship missiles, Iranian-made Type 358 anti-aircraft missiles, drone components, warheads and other weapons

By Jon Gambrell 16 July 2025, 11:53 am

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An image taken from an unverified video circulating on social media said to show Iranian-supplied weapons for the Houthis that were seized by fighters allied with the exiled government, published on July 16, 2025, (Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Fighters allied to Yemen’s exiled government claimed Wednesday they had seized 750 tons of Iranian-supplied missiles and weaponry bound for the country’s Houthi rebels, the latest interdiction of arms allegedly tied to Tehran in the country’s decadelong war.

For years, the US Navy and other Western naval forces have seized Iranian arms being sent to the Houthis, who have held Yemen’s capital since 2014 and have been attacking ships in the Red Sea over the Israel-Hamas war.

The seizure announced Wednesday, however, marked the first major interdiction conducted by the National Resistance Force, a group of fighters allied to Tariq Saleh, a nephew of Yemen’s late strongman leader Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The Houthis and Iran did not immediately acknowledge the seizure, which the National Resistance Force said happened in late June.

A short video package released by the force appeared to show anti-ship missiles, the same kinds used in the Houthis’ recent attacks that sank two ships in the Red Sea, killing at least four people with others still missing.

The footage also appeared to show Iranian-made Type 358 anti-aircraft missiles. The Houthis claim they downed 26 US MQ-9 drones over the past decade of the Yemen war, likely with those missiles. The majority of those losses have been acknowledged by the US military.

Pro-govt National Resistance forces @nrfyemen seized a massive 750-ton Iranian arms shipment heading to the #Houthis. The haul included missile systems, air defense, modern radars, drones, anti-tank missiles, P10 artillery, sniper rifles, & more.#Yemen pic.twitter.com/u5QXHtsjC5

— Ali Al-Sakani | علي السكني (@Alsakaniali) July 16, 2025

The footage also appeared to show drone components, warheads and other weapons. The force said it would release a detailed statement in the coming hours.

Iran denies arming the rebels, though Tehran-manufactured weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in sea shipments heading to Yemen for the Shiite Houthi rebels despite a United Nations arms embargo.

The Houthis seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 and forced the internationally recognized government into exile.

This handout picture released by Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah Media Centre on July 8, 2025 reportedly shows a view of damage to the Liberia-flagged bulk carrier Eternity C after it was attacked by the Houthis at sea (ANSARULLAH MEDIA CENTRE / AFP)

A Saudi-led coalition armed with US weaponry and intelligence entered the war on the side of Yemen’s exiled government in March 2015. Years of inconclusive fighting has pushed the Arab world’s poorest nation to the brink of famine.

The war has killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, killing tens of thousands more.