French special forces boarded an Iranian smuggling ship bound for Yemen and recovered thousands of assault rifles and anti-tank missiles this month.
A French warship detained a suspected smuggling vessel off the coast of Yemen on January 15 and dispatched French special forces operators to board and search the ship. The soldiers found more than 3,000 assault rifles, 500,000 rounds of ammunition and 20 anti-tank guided missiles, according to The Wall Street Journal. The US, French and British navies have coordinated an effort to block Iran’s smuggling operations in the region.
Iran has tried to provide lethal aid to Houthi rebels in Yemen for months, even as the Yemeni civil war remains under a ceasefire.
united states navy seized more than 2,000 assault rifles and 50 tons of ammunition after stopping another suspected smuggling ship just days before the French operation on January 6. USS Chinook deployed a boarding party to a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Oman with support from USS Monsoon and USS The Sullivans on January 6, discovering a crew of Yemeni nationals.
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The US Navy seized 2,000 assault rifles that were being smuggled from Iran to Yemen. (Us Navy)
An Iranian smuggling ship detained by US Navy forces.
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“This shipment is part of an ongoing pattern of destabilizing activity by Iran,” Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, US 5th Fleet and US Forces, said at the time. Combined Maritime. “These threats have our attention. We remain alert to detect any maritime activity that impedes the freedom of navigation or compromises regional security.”
The US Navy routinely patrols common smuggling routes in the Gulf of Oman. Iranian ships that smuggle weapons into Yemen must travel east through the gulf before heading south toward Yemen.
International law and the UN Security Council prohibit the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of weapons to the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The US Navy also has a long history of interactions with Iranian vessels in the area. Three Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) engaged a US convoy in the Strait of Hormuz in June 2022, with one of the ships coming within 50 yards of the USS Sirocco.
US Navy personnel transfer 2,000 confiscated assault rifles to an Iranian smuggling ship. (Us Navy)
2,000 assault rifles seized by the US Navy from Iranian smugglers.
“One of the RGICN ships it approached Sirocco head-on at dangerously high speed and only changed course after the US coastal patrol boat issued audible warning signals to avoid collision. The Iranian ship also came within 50 yards of the US Navy ship during the interaction, and Sirocco responded by deploying a warning flare,” the US Navy said of the incident.
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US warships fired warning shots on Iranian ships during a similar encounter in May 2021.
