US says intercepted Iran weapons shipment to Yemen rebels

By Agence France Presse

The US military said on Thursday it had seized an Iranian weapons shipment in January that was destined for Yemen’s Huthi rebels who have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea.

The US navy “seized advanced conventional weapons and other lethal aid originating in Iran and bound to Huthi-controlled areas of Yemen from a vessel in the Arabian Sea on Jan. 28,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on social media.

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The shipment contained over 200 packages carrying missile components, explosives and other devices, the statement said.

“This is yet another example of Iran’s malign activity in the region,” CENTCOM chief Michael Erik Kurilla was quoted as saying.

“Their continued supply of advanced conventional weapons to the Huthis… continues to undermine the safety of international shipping and the free flow of commerce,” he added.

The Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who control much of war-torn Yemen, have been attacking vital Red Sea shipping lanes since November in a campaign they say is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war.

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Their attacks have triggered reprisals by US and British forces, including a fresh wave of US strikes on Huthi-controlled areas on Wednesday.

The Huthi attacks have prompted some shipping companies to detour around southern Africa to avoid the Red Sea, which normally carries about 12 percent of global maritime trade.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development warned late last month that the volume of commercial traffic passing through the Suez Canal had fallen more than 40 percent in the previous two months.

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