Ukraine
The Justice Department claimed ownership of the ordnance, saying it was smuggled to Yemen’s Houthi forces in violation of a U.N. embargo
The United States has delivered to Ukraine more than a million rounds of Iranian ammunition seized in the Gulf late last year.
The handover of the ordnance followed a civil confiscation process brought by the Justice Ministry to take ownership on the grounds that the bullets were seized while being smuggled to Yemen’s Houthi forces in violation of a U.N. arms embargo be.
“With this arms transfer, the Justice Department’s confiscation efforts against one authoritarian regime now directly support the Ukrainian people’s fight against another authoritarian regime,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday. “We will continue to use all legal powers at our disposal to support Ukraine in its fight for freedom, democracy and the rule of law.”
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The Justice Department is also demanding the confiscation of seized weapons from other seized caches, including 9,000 assault rifles, 284 machine guns, approximately 194 rocket launchers and more than 70 anti-tank missiles.
The 1.1m 7.62mm rounds were seized by US Central Command naval vessels from a stateless dhow, Marwan1, on December 9, 2022. Thousands of rocket grenade proximity fuses were seized as part of the cargo.
The US said the ammunition was sent by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and intended for its Houthi allies in Yemen’s civil war. Since then they have been stored in the Middle East and a forfeiture lawsuit was filed in a US court in March. On July 20, the US took control.
The transfer of seized Iranian weapons to Ukraine came at a time when Western defense ministries are concerned about their continued ability to arm Kiev given the relentless war of attrition waged by Russia.
“The bottom of the barrel is now visible,” Admiral Rob Bauer, Dutch chairman of NATO’s military committee and the alliance’s top military official, said at a conference in Warsaw on Tuesday.
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