US charges 4 foreign nationals with shipping Iranian-made weapons to Houthis

The United States has charged four foreigners with transporting Iranian-made weapons parts to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, whose shipment was seized by Navy SEALs in a daring raid off the coast of Somalia last month. Ta.

Department of Justice (DOJ) The indictment was unsealed. Thursday charged Muhammad Palawan, Mohammad Mazar, Ghufran Ullah and Izhar Muhammad with providing false information to U.S. Coast Guard officials after their arrests.

The Palawan suspect was also used by Houthi rebels to target commercial and naval vessels in the Red Sea, part of an operation carried out by the Houthi rebels in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza. He was also charged with knowingly transporting warheads illegally.

Matthew Olsen, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for national security, said the Palawan suspects “attempted to smuggle advanced missile components, including warheads, to Houthi rebels for use against cargo ships and U.S. vessels.” said.

“The Department of Justice, together with our partners in the U.S. authorities, is working tirelessly to negate the methods of malign forces that threaten international transportation and endanger the lives of our men and women in uniform,” Olsen said in a statement. said.

On January 11, Navy SEALs boarded a small dhow in the Arabian Sea to transport missile and weapons parts to Yemen. The SEALS were dispatched from the expeditionary mobile base ship Lewis B. Puller.

SEALs detained 14 of the boat’s crew members, and the United States seized weapons parts believed to have been used in intermediate-range ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles.

During the attack, two SEALs fell into rough water and were later pronounced dead. The 14 crew members were brought back to the Lewis B. Puller, and four of the defendants indicted on Thursday were eventually arrested, with the remaining 10 being held as witnesses, according to the Justice Department.

According to the Ministry of Justice, all four accused were in possession of Pakistani identity cards. They were transported to Virginia for processing.

According to the Justice Department, the parts seized in the raid were made in Iran. Iran supports the Houthis, along with a regional network of proxies across the Middle East.

The Houthis have relentlessly attacked commercial shipping since November, claiming they hijacked one vessel and sank another this week. Since January, the US has launched targeted attacks in Yemen to degrade the Houthis’ capabilities, but the fighters have continued their pace of attacks.

The Palawan defendant faces up to 20 years in prison for making false statements, and all four defendants face up to five years in prison.

Attorney General Merrick Garland of the Department of Justice said the United States will “use all legal authorities to prevent the flow of weapons from Iran to the Houthi rebels, Hamas, and other groups that endanger the security of the United States and our allies.” We will hold those who promoted it accountable.”