Navy Seizes Iranian Weapons, Searches for Missing SEALs
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The U.S. Navy announced the seizure of Iranian weapons bound for Yemen, where Houthi rebels continue to attack commercial and military ships sailing through the Red Sea.
Details: Last week, the Navy seized a ship carrying Iranian-made missile guidance systems and warheads. A Central Command statement read, “these same weapons have been employed by the Houthis to threaten and attack innocent mariners on international merchant ships transiting in the Red Sea.”
Missing SEALs: The Navy is searching for two Navy SEALs that went missing during the operation to seize the ship. According to U.S. officials, while the SEALs were on the ship, high waves knocked one of them into the water, and the other jumped in after.
Key Quotes: A statement from U.S. Central Command read, “This is the first seizure of lethal, Iranian-supplied advanced conventional weapons (ACW) to the Houthis since the beginning of Houthi attacks against merchant ships in November 2023. The interdiction also constitutes the first seizure of advanced Iranian-manufactured ballistic missile and cruise missile components by the U.S. Navy since November 2019. The direct or indirect supply, sale, or transfer of weapons to the Houthis in Yemen violates U.N. Security Resolution 2216 and international law.” Regarding the missing SEALs, CENTCOM Commander General Michael Erik Kurilla said, “We are conducting an exhaustive search for our missing teammates.”
How the Media Covered It: The seizure and missing SEALs are being covered moderately, with outlets across the spectrum tying reports to speculation of escalation in the region.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
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...
From the Center
U.S. Searches for Missing Navy SEALs, Launches Fresh Strikes on Houthis
The U.S. military was searching for two Navy SEALs lost at sea during an operation that seized Iranian-made missile parts bound for Houthi rebels in Yemen, as the U.S. launched another series of strikes against the group.
The waters off the Yemen coastline have become a zone of increasing geopolitical turbulence since the repercussions of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel spread into the wider region, drawing in Washington and Iran-backed groups such as the Houthis.
The SEALs, reported lost off the coast of Somalia on Friday, were taking...
From the Right
US Navy announces first seizure of Iranian weapons bound for Yemen as two SEALs remain lost from mission
The U.S. Navy on Tuesday announced what's considered the first seizure of Iranian weapons bound for Yemen since Houthi rebels began their campaign of attacks against international merchant shipping in the Red Sea two months ago – yet the two Navy SEALs lost at sea during the mission carried out last week still remain missing amid search and rescue efforts.
On Jan. 11, 2024, while conducting a flag verification, U.S. CENTCOM Navy forces "conducted a night-time seizure of a dhow conducting illegal transport of advanced lethal aid from Iran to...
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