US Navy: 70 tonnes of missile fuel from Iran to Yemen seized
Component hidden among bags of fertiliser aboard ship
This type of shipment and just the massive volume of explosive material is a serious concern because it is destabilising. The unlawful transport of weapons from Iran to Yemen leads to instability and violence.”
Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins | US Navy spokesman
The US Navy said yesterday it found 70 tonnes of a missile fuel component hidden among bags of fertiliser aboard a ship bound to Yemen from Iran, the firstsuch seizure in that country’s yearslong war as a ceasefire there has broken down.
The Navy said the amount of ammonium perchlorate discovered could fuel more than a dozen medium-range ballistic missiles, the same weapons Yemen’s Iranianbacked Houthi militia have used to target both forces allied to the country’s internationally recognised government and the Saudi-led Arab coalition that supports them.
Rearming effort
The apparent rearming effort comes as Iran has threatened Saudi Arabia, the United States and other nations over the monthslong protests calling for the overthrow the Islamic Republic’s theocracy. Tehran blames foreign powers — rather than its own frustrated population — for fomenting the protests, which have seen at least 344 people killed and 15,820 people arrested amid a widening crackdown on dissent there.
The Houthis could not be immediately reached for comment. Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“This type of shipment and just the massive volume of explosive material is a serious concern because it is destabilising,” Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins, a spokesman for Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet, told The Associated Press.
“The unlawful transport of weapons from Iran to Yemen leads to instability and violence.”
The US Coast Guard ship USCGC John Scheuerman and guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans stopped a traditional wooden sailing vessel known as a dhow in the Gulf of Oman on November 8, the Navy said. During a weeklong search, sailors discovered bags of ammonium perchlorate hidden inside of what initially appeared to be a shipment of 100 tonnes of urea. Urea, a fertiliser, also can be used to manufacture explosives.
The dhow was so weighted down by the shipment that it posed a hazard to nearby shipping in the Gulf of Oman, a route that leads from the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf, out to the Indian Ocean. The Navy ended up sinking the ship with much of the material still on board due to the danger, Hawkins said.