French special forces
French special forces boarded an Iranian smuggling ship bound for Yemen and recovered thousands of assault rifles and anti-tank missiles this month.
A French warship stopped a suspected smuggling vessel off the Yemeni coast on January 15, sending French special forces operators to board and search the vessel. Soldiers found more than 3,000 assault rifles, 500,000 rounds and 20 anti-tank guided missiles, according to the Wall Street Journal. The US, French and British navies coordinated an effort to block Iran’s smuggling operations in the region.
Iran has sought to provide Houthi rebels in Yemen with lethal aid for months, even as the Yemeni civil war continues under a ceasefire.
The United States Navy seized more than 2,000 assault rifles and 50 tons of ammunition after stopping another suspected smuggling vessel days before the January 6 French operation. USS Chinook deployed a boarding party to a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Oman with support from USS Monsoon and USS The Sullivans on January 6, discovering a crew of Yemeni nationals.
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The US Navy confiscated 2,000 assault rifles smuggled from Iran to Yemen. (US Navy)
An Iranian smuggling vessel stopped by US Navy forces.
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“This shipment is part of an ongoing pattern of destabilizing activities by Iran,” Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and U.S. Forces, said at the time. maritime combined. “These threats hold our attention. We remain vigilant in detecting any maritime activity that impedes freedom of navigation or compromises regional security.”
The US Navy regularly patrols common smuggling routes in the Gulf of Oman. Iranian ships smuggling weapons into Yemen must travel east across the gulf before heading south to Yemen.
International law and the UN Security Council prohibit the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of arms to Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The US Navy also has a long history of interactions with Iranian ships in the region. Three Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGCN) clashed with a US convoy in the Strait of Hormuz in June 2022, with one of the ships coming within 50 yards of the USS Sirocco.
US Navy personnel transfer 2,000 confiscated assault rifles to an Iranian smuggling vessel. (US Navy)
2,000 assault rifles confiscated by the US Navy from Iranian smugglers.
“A die IRGCN ships approached Sirocco head-on at dangerously high speed and only changed course after the US coastal patrol vessel sounded warning signals to avoid collision. The Iranian ship also came within 50 meters of the US Navy ship during the interaction, and the Sirocco responded by deploying a flare,” the US Navy said of the incident.
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US warships fired warning shots on Iranian boats in a similar encounter in May 2021.
