US Navy Intercepts Huge Cache of Arms From Iran Near Yemen on “Stateless Ship”
25th December 2021
This week the US Navy announced that it seized some 1,400 AK-47 assault rifles and 226,600 rounds of ammunition from a “stateless” fishing vessel after it was intercepted in the North Arabian Sea based on suspicious activity, which led to a “flag verification boarding”.
The illicit weapons and ammunition were then transferred to the guided-missile destroyer USS O’Kane. The five passengers were reportedly Yemeni nationals. Subsequent reports suggested it may have been an Iranian smuggling operation into war-torn Yemen, where Tehran-backed Shia Houthi rebels have for a half-decade been battling the Saudi-UAE coalition which has also long enjoyed the support of the Pentagon.