Illegal Iranian Flow of Weapons to Yemen
United States Department of StateDec 24, 2021
The US announced on Tuesday the seizure of over 2.1k assault rifles on a ship in the Gulf of Oman, believed to have come from Iran and bound for Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
The Bahrain-based US Navy Fifth Fleet discovered the cargo Friday on a small wooden boat crewed by Yemeni nationals off the coast of Oman. The Yemeni crew will reportedly be repatriated back to a government-controlled part of Yemen.
The ongoing illegal flow of weapons to Yemen is causing significant suffering for innocent civilians. International negotiators are working hard to find a political solution to the war. The most recent seizure of Iranian weapons is just one more example demonstrating that Iran is continuing to arm the Houthis and disregard peace-making processes.
Washington's role in the influx of weapons in the conflict— and by extension, its role in the country's crisis — can't be overlooked. As it hypocritically denounces Iran's suspected supply of weapons, the US itself is heavily arming Saudi Arabia in the hopes of cozying up with the oil-rich nation, and innocent civilians are paying the price.