US Navy intercepts weapons shipment coming from Iran in Arabian Sea

Manama : The U.S. Navy said it seized a weapons shipment in the Arabian Sea from Iran, which was probably heading to war-torn Yemen. The Navy said in a statement yesterday that the USS Sirocco, on March 28, intercepted and seized the shipment of weapons hidden aboard a small dhow, a type of ship commonly used in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean.

The Navy said the shipment included 1,500 Kalashnikov assault rifles, 200 rocket-propelled grenade launchers and 21.50-caliber machine guns. It said those aboard the dhow were released after sailors confiscated the arms.

According to a report in Stars and Stripes, an American newspaper that reports on matters relating to  the US Armed Forces, the  illicit shipment of arms originated in Iran and were intended for Huthi rebels in Yemen.

It was the third seizure of weapons by international naval forces in the Arabian Sea in a month, the U.S. 5th Fleet said in a statement. In all three instances, the weapons were assessed by U.S. officials to have come from Iran.

Iran backs the Shia Huthi rebels in Yemen, who are fighting the internationally recognised government, which is backed by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia.  A cease-fire is set to take effect on Sunday, followed by peace talks in Kuwait.

Last year, the U.N. Security Council had imposed an arms embargo against the Huthis. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have repeatedly accused Iran of flouting the ban, something Tehran has always denied.

US 5th Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Kevin Stephens Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Kevin Stephens confirmed that the guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely assisted in the March 28 seizure after the weapons were discovered by Sirocco’s boarding team. 

Eight days earlier, the French navy destroyer FS Provence seized a shipment of arms that included nearly 2,000 AK-47s, 64 Dragunov sniper rifles and nine anti-tank missiles. 

The Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Darwin also intercepted a dhow on February 27 carrying a similar cache of arms.

In early March, a Huthi official rejected a suggestion by an Iranian military official that Iran might send military advisers to support the Huthis, Reuters reported. 

Huthi representatives were in Saudi Arabia at the time for talks.

The Huthi leader had said the rebels were prepared to continue fighting if the latest round of talks failed. 

Over 6,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which also involves al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The Islamic State also has sought to exploit the chaos in Yemen to establish a foothold.

The Fifth Fleet of the United States Navy is responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean.  Bahrain is home to the US Navy’s Fifth fleet.