US Navy Seizes Iranian Arms Shipment

On April 4, the U.S. Navy announced that the USS Sirocco had seized an Iranian arms shipment in the Arabian Sea on March 28, likely bound for Houthi rebels in Yemen. Iran is widely accused of backing the Houthis, a Zaydi Shiite movement that has been fighting Yemen’s Sunni-majority government since 2004.
 
The incident is the third of its kind in the last two months. On February 27, the Australian Navy seized more than 2,000 pieces of weaponry on a boat off the coast of Oman. On March 20, French naval forces seized a weapons cache in the northern Indian Ocean. Both shipments likely originated in Iran and were bound for Yemen via Somalia, according to U.S. military sources. The following is a press release from the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command followed by comments from U.S. officials.
 
For the third time in recent weeks, international naval forces operating in the waters of the Arabian Sea seized a shipment of illicit arms March 28, which the United States assessed originated in Iran and was likely bound for Houthi insurgents in Yemen.

The U.S. Navy Coastal Patrol ship USS Sirocco, operating as part of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, intercepted and seized the shipment of weapons hidden aboard a small, stateless dhow. The illicit cargo included 1,500 AK-47s, 200 RPG launchers and 21 .50 caliber machine guns. 

The seizure was supported by USS Gravely (DDG 107), which was directed to the scene by United States Naval Forces Central Command following the discovery of the weapons by Sirocco's boarding team.

The weapons are now in U.S. custody awaiting final disposition. The dhow and its crew were allowed to depart once the illicit weapons were seized.

This seizure is the latest in a string of illicit weapons shipments assessed by the U.S. to have originated in Iran that were seized in the region by naval forces. 

The Royal Australian Navy's HMAS Darwin intercepted a dhow Feb. 27, confiscating nearly 2,000 AK-47 assault rifles, 100 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 49 PKM general purpose machine guns, 39 PKM spare barrels and 20 60mm mortar tubes. 

A March 20 seizure by the French Navy destroyer FS Provence yielded almost 2,000 AK-47 assault rifles, 64 Dragunov sniper rifles, nine anti-tank missiles and other associated equipment. 

NAVCENT is responsible for approximately 2.5 million square miles of area including the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, parts of the Indian Ocean and 20 countries. 
 – April 4, 2016, in a U.S. Navy press release
 
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest
 
Q    The Navy says in recent days it stopped an Iranian vessel loaded with weapons, likely heading for Yemen -- 1,500 AK-47s, 200 RPG launchers, 21 .50-caliber machine guns.  Is that an example of the Iranians following the letter of the agreement but not necessarily the spirit of it?  Or is that a violation?
 
MR. EARNEST:  Well, I think one thing that this illustrates is the commitment on the part of the United States to countering Iran's destabilizing activities in the region.  We obviously work with a whole host of other countries in that effort, and one of the things that President Obama will discuss at the GCC Summit in Saudi Arabia next month -- or I guess it's later this month now -- will be ramping up our efforts to counter Iran's destabilizing activities in the region.  And one example of their destabilizing activities is their ongoing materiel support for Houthi rebels in Yemen.
 
What I can tell you is that we obviously are concerned about this development because offering up support to the rebels in Yemen is something that is not at all consistent with U.N. Security Council resolutions.  And I'm confident that the United States and our other partners on the Security Council will take a close look at this incident, consider the available evidence, and if and when it's appropriate, raise this for other members of the Security Council.
 
Q    Would the United States like to see some kind of consequences for this kind of destabilizing behavior?  
 
MR. EARNEST:  I think at this point, it's too early to say exactly what we would suggest, but, again, I think this is a clear illustration that the United States is quite serious about working with other countries in the region to counter Iran's destabilizing activities in the Middle East.
– April 4, 2016, in a press briefing
 
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