WASHINGTON (AP) — A US Navy warship has seized a “significant cache” of suspected Iranian guided missile parts headed to rebels in Yemen, US officials said Wednesday, marking the first time that such sophisticated components have been taken en route to the war there.
The seizure from a small boat by the US Navy and a US Coast Guard boarding team happened last Wednesday in the northern Arabian Sea, and the weapons have been linked to Iran.
Officials said the incident illustrates the continuing illegal smuggling of weapons to Houthi rebels and comes as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Portugal Wednesday, with Iran as the main topic of discussion.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories
Free Sign Up
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive military mission.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet in Lisbon, Portugal, December 4, 2019. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
The US has consistently accused Iran of illegally smuggling arms to Houthi rebels battling the Yemeni government and has seized smaller and less sophisticated weapons in transit.
According to officials, the USS Forrest Sherman was conducting routine maritime operations when sailors noticed a small wooden boat that was not displaying a country flag.
The Navy and Coast Guard personnel stopped, boarded the boat for inspection and found the weapons.
Illustrative: Tribesmen loyal to Houthi rebels chant slogans during a gathering aimed at mobilizing more fighters into battlefronts to fight pro-government forces, in Sana’a, Yemen, January 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
Officials did not provide the exact number of missiles or parts but did describe it as a significant cache. They said the small boat was towed into port, and the people on the boat were transferred to the Yemeni Coast Guard. The weapons are still on board the US ship.
Smuggling weapons into Yemen is a violation of a UN Security Council resolution.
I'm proud to work at The Times of Israel
I’ll tell you the truth: Life here in Israel isn’t always easy. But it's full of beauty and meaning.
I'm proud to work at The Times of Israel alongside colleagues who pour their hearts into their work day in, day out, to capture the complexity of this extraordinary place.
I believe our reporting sets an important tone of honesty and decency that's essential to understand what's really happening in Israel. It takes a lot of time, commitment and hard work from our team to get this right.
Your support, through membership in The Times of Israel Community, enables us to continue our work. Would you join our Community today?
Thank you,
Sarah Tuttle Singer, New Media Editor
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You’re serious. We appreciate that!
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we come to work every day - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
comments