2 Missing SEALs Were on Mission to Stop Yemen-Bound Iranian Weapons, U.S. Says

Two members of the Navy SEALs who were reported missing last week off the coast of Somalia were part of a nighttime commando operation that seized a small boat carrying lethal aid from Iran to the Houthi militia in Yemen, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

Navy commandos, backed by helicopters and drones hovering overhead, boarded the small boat, called a dhow, on Thursday and seized Iranian-made ballistic-missile and cruise-missile components bound for Yemen, the Pentagon’s Central Command said in a statement.

The seized items included propulsion and guidance systems and warheads for Houthi medium-range ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles, as well as air-defense components, the statement said. Such weapons transfers to the Houthis violate international law and a United Nations Security Council resolution, the military said.