According to the US Navy, the boat had more than a million rounds of ammunition on board and was intercepted on a sea route from Iran to Yemen.
The United States Navy says it intercepted a fishing trawler smuggling more than 50 tons of ammunition – including more than 1 million bullets, thousands of rocket detonators and a large quantity of propellant for rocket grenades – in the Gulf of Oman.
In a statement on Saturday, the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet said the “illegal cargo” was discovered on Dec. 1 “during a flag check” and was the second major weapons seizure in a month along a sea route from Iran to the war-torn Yemen .
“The direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of arms to the Houthis of Yemen violates UN Security Council Resolution 2216 and international law,” the US Navy said in the statement.
On November 8, the fleet intercepted a fishing vessel carrying more than 70 tons of ammonium perchlorate, which is used to make rocket and missile fuel and explosives, and 100 tons of urea fertilizer, which can be used in agriculture and can also be used in explosives.
US Vice Admiral Brad Cooper accused Iran of being behind the latest shipment.
“This momentous ban clearly demonstrates Iran’s ongoing illicit flow of deadly aid and destabilizing behavior,” he said in the statement.
On December 1, US naval forces in the Middle East intercepted a fishing trawler smuggling more than 50 tons of ammunition, detonators and rocket fuel in the Gulf of Oman along a sea route from Iran to Yemen.
Read more ⬇️https://t.co/DHuiCFBNnO pic.twitter.com/mvcgxmgqF7
– Central Command of the US Naval Forces/5. US Fleet (@US5thFleet) December 3, 2022
A handout photo released on December 3, 2022 by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service shows a fishing trawler reportedly intercepted by the US Navy in the Gulf of Oman [DVIDS via AFP]
The United States and Saudi Arabia have accused Iran of arming Yemen’s Houthi rebels who occupied the capital Sanaa in 2014.
Tehran has denied the charges; Iran has previously said it supports the Houthis politically but denies sending weapons to the group.
The war in Yemen, which pitted the Houthis against a Saudi-led coalition, has killed hundreds of thousands and brought the impoverished nation to the brink of famine.
A United Nations-brokered ceasefire that came into effect in April brought a significant drop in hostilities. The ceasefire expired in October, although fighting has largely been suspended.
There was no immediate comment from the Houthis in Yemen or the Iranian government.