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The interception befell in worldwide waters within the Gulf of Oman on Monday, US Central Command stated. A group from the USS Chinook, a patrol coastal vessel, boarded the opposite ship alongside a route traditionally used to smuggle weapons from Iran to the Houthis in Yemen.
A photograph from the USS The Sullivans exhibits the two,116 assault rifles overlaying the deck of the guided missile destroyer.
“The unlawful movement of weapons from Iran via worldwide waterways has a destabilizing impact on the area,” stated Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, the commander of US Central Command.
Yemen has been engulfed in a devastating civil conflict since 2015, which has plunged the Gulf nation into what has lengthy been recognized by support teams as one of many world’s worst humanitarian crises. Iran has supported the Houthis, a insurgent group who overthrew the federal government at first of the conflict, in opposition to a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and aided by US army help. The conflict between the 2 factions has brutalized the nation, resulting in widespread poverty and famine, and tens of 1000’s of civilian casualties.
Tensions between the US and Iran have elevated in latest months because of the crackdowns on civil unrest all through the nation. Further US sanctions on Iranian officers have been introduced simply final week over their involvement within the manufacturing of drones being utilized by Russia of their conflict in opposition to Ukraine.
The US has intercepted different shipments of weapons and explosives earlier than alongside related routes.
In November, the Navy seized what it described as a “giant amount” of explosives from a fishing vessel within the Gulf of Oman. The cargo included 70 tons of ammonium perchlorate and 100 tons of urea fertilizer, that are used to make explosives and rocket gas. US forces sunk the vessel after figuring out it was a hazard to navigation for business delivery.
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