- Western militaries regularly raid boats trying to smuggle weapons illegally from Iran to Yemen.
- In recent years, these forces have seized a massive amount of guns, ammunition, and explosives.
Western forces have been regularly intercepting boats trying to smuggle weapons illegally from Iran to Yemen in recent years, seizing a massive amount of weapons and explosive material bound for a brutal proxy war.
Over the last few months alone, US and partner forces have captured over 5,000 weapons, 1.6 million rounds of ammunition, 7,000 rocket fuses, 23 anti-tank guided missiles, and thousands of kilograms of propellant used to fire rocket-propelled grenades.
These raids tend to target small fishing boats travelling along sea routes historically used to move weapons from Iran to Houthi rebels, which violates a United Nations arms embargo. The Iran-backed Houthis have fought a years-long civil war against Yemen's internationally recognized government, which is supported by a Saudi-led coalition.
But what happens to all this deadly hardware after its intercepted in Middle Eastern waters? That ultimately depends on a handful factors, Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, a public affairs officer with the US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), told Insider.
Factors include how an interception unfolded, what exactly the military found, the way the weapons were seized, any legal implications, and the commander's decision on how to complete the mission.
'A lot of considerations are made'
"In many cases, seized weapons are transferred by US Naval forces to a third party — whether that is another country, or another US government entity or US military organization — because our focus is on maintaining close vigilance in order to detect and disrupt destabilizing activity in the form of weapons, or really, illicit cargo smuggling," Hawkins said.
Hawkins detailed two specific examples from 2022 where weaponry was seized but had two different final destinations. In one incident, US forces seized dual-use chemical fertilizer, which can be used for agricultural purposes and also to make explosives.
After this interception, US forces transferred the vessel, crew, and cargo to authorities in Yemen, where they could then determine next steps and sort out how to proceed with the fertilizer.
That was a different outcome from when US forces later in the year seized a massive amount of explosive material called ammonium perchlorate. Such a big quantity of this compound posed a huge risk to the boarding team, the smugglers, and merchant traffic, Hawkins explained. So the US made the decision to just detonate the material at sea.
There have also been incidents where US forces seized assault rifles and ammunition, Hawkins said, and those were then sent ashore to a third-party — like a US agency, Department of Defense entity, or another government — so they could be destroyed. Then there's also cases where advanced weapons components — like different types of rockets or missiles — warrant further forensic analysis in a lab by the US government or another entity.
"A lot of considerations are made, a lot of factors are weighed when decision makers are determining what to ultimately do with seized illegal weapons," he said.
Weapons seizures have increased over the years
Right now, the US military is considering giving Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry seized in recent raids, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing US and European officials. Should this happen, it would actually widen Iran's involvement, albeit unwittingly, in Russia's year-long war. Tehran has armed Moscow's forces with explosive suicide drones that are used to terrorize Ukrainian cities and destroy critical infrastructure.
When asked about this possibility, Hawkins said it would be "inappropriate" to speculate on any potential considerations. He did say, however, that "the weapons recently seized by US and partner maritime forces currently remain in theater, and the determination on their disposition is pending." In other words, these weapons are still in the region.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) has revealed several interceptions of weapons of Iranian origin bound for Yemen that were carried out by American and partner forces in recent months.
Earlier in 2022, UK naval forces confiscated surface-to-air missiles and cruise-missile rocket engines. In November, US forces seized 70 tons of ammonium perchlorate — which is used to fuel ballistic missiles. At the start of January, US forces captured over 2,100 AK-47 assault rifles. Shortly after that, and most recently, French special forces seized over 3,000 assault rifles, 578,000 rounds of ammunition, and 23 advanced anti-tank guided missiles.
The US military said that multiple "illicit cargo interdictions" over the past two months alone have seen over 5,000 weapons and 1.6 million rounds of ammunition blocked from reaching Yemen. They have also coincided with major Western messaging like the European Union's push to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) a terrorist organization and large-scale military drills involving the US and Israel.
Middle East and Iran experts previously told Insider that the consistent raids are a coordinated effort aimed at applying pressure on Iran for the possible revival of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal and to curb this country's malign influence in the region.
These recent sea raids are part of a growing trend in which the frequency of these intercepts has increased over the last few years. CENTCOM said it prevented 9,000 weapons from reaching Yemen in 2021 — a 200 percent increase from what US forces intercepted in 2020.
"I wouldn't say that the spike has been in the last two months. I would say the spike has been in the last two years," Hawkins said. NAVCENT is increasingly focusing resources like personnel and assets on "detecting and disrupting any destabilizing maritime activity." This is especially the case with weapons smuggling, which he said has a "negative impact on the region."