US military says it seized Iranian-made missile parts en route to Houthi rebels
- Raid marks latest seizure by the US and its allies of weapon shipments bound for the rebels, who have launched a series of attacks now threatening global trade
- The Houthis have not acknowledged the seizure. A United Nations resolution bans arms transfers to Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels
US Navy Seals seized Iranian-made missile parts and other weaponry from a ship bound for Yemen’s Houthi rebels in a raid last week that saw two of its commandos go missing, the US military said on Tuesday.
“This is the first seizure of lethal, Iranian-supplied advanced conventional weapons (ACW) to the Houthis since the beginning of Houthi attacks against merchant ships in November 2023,” USCENTCOM said in a statement, adding the operation on January 11 intercepted weapons that included “ballistic missile and cruise missiles components”.
The raid marks the latest seizure by the US Navy and its allies of weapon shipments bound for the rebels, who have launched a series of attacks now threatening global trade in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The seized missile components included types likely used in those attacks.
The attacks, US-led retaliatory strikes and the raid all have raised tensions across the wider Middle East, which also saw Iran conduct ballistic missile strikes in both Iraq and Syria.
The Seal raid happened last Thursday, with the commandos launching from the USS Lewis B. Puller backed by drones and helicopters, with the US military’s Central Command saying it took place in the Arabian Sea.