US Department of Defense
U.S. Central Command supported maritime operations by associate navies that led to the seizure of superior weapons throughout an interdiction within the Gulf of Oman on January 15.
CNN —
The United States plans to switch hundreds of seized Iranian weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, a part of a essential scarcity dealing with the Ukrainian navy because it awaits additional funding and tools from the United States and its allies. U.S. officers stated it might assist alleviate the scenario. .
“The authorities took possession of those munitions on July 20, 2023 by way of a Department of Justice civil forfeiture declare in opposition to the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC),” the assertion stated.
In March, the Justice Department introduced that it was in search of the confiscation of 1 million rounds of Iranian ammunition, hundreds of proximity fuses for rocket-propelled grenades, and hundreds of kilos of propellant for rocket-propelled grenades that the Navy had seized from Iran. In transit to Yemen.
“These munitions had been initially seized by the U.S. Central Command Navy from the stateless dhow Marwan 1 throughout transit on December 9, 2022. and had been transferred from the Revolutionary Guards to the Houthis in Yemen,” the assertion stated.
The Biden administration has been contemplating for months easy methods to legally ship confiscated weapons saved at Centcom services throughout the Middle East to Ukrainians.
Over the previous yr, the U.S. Navy has seized hundreds of Iranian assault rifles and greater than 1 million rounds of ammunition from ships utilized by Iran to move weapons to Yemen. The seizures, that are regularly carried out with regional associate forces, goal stateless small vessels on routes which have traditionally been used to smuggle arms to Yemen’s Houthis.
02:14 – Source: CNN
Step inside a tank combating on the entrance strains in Ukraine
The seizure of unlawful weapons concludes a two-month interval during which the United States and its companions seized a complete of 5,000 weapons and 1.6 million rounds of ammunition, based on Central Command.
The Justice Department has filed not less than two forfeiture motions this yr for Iranian ammunition and weapons seized. Separately from the March announcement, the Justice Department introduced in July that it had seized from the U.S. “greater than 9,000 rifles, 284 machine weapons, roughly 194 rocket launchers, greater than 70 anti-tank guided missiles, and 70 He introduced that he’s in search of the confiscation of “greater than 10,000 rounds of ammunition.” Iran by the US Navy.
“At the top of the day, Ukraine wants a wide range of supplies for its conflict effort. This just isn’t an answer to all of Ukraine’s navy wants, however it would present vital assist,” stated Senior Fellow and Director. Jonathan Lord stated. The Center for a New American Security’s Middle East Security Program pressured the United States to ship seized Iranian weapons to Ukraine in a February editorial.
Lord added that the transfer might additionally have an effect on relations between Iran and Russia.
“For greater than a yr, Iranian drones within the palms of the Russian navy have been used to assault and kill Ukrainian civilians,” Lord stated. “There is poetic justice in Ukraine to make the most of seized Iranian weapons to guard its inhabitants from Russia’s felony aggression and abuses. Moreover, this coverage places much more stress on the burgeoning relationship between Moscow and Tehran. There is a risk that will probably be utilized.”
The resolution comes after Iran and Russia have cast a de facto protection partnership over the previous few months, with Iran supplying Russia with drones for the Ukraine conflict and Russia serving to Iran with missile and air protection manufacturing. There is a risk of driving a wedge into the long run.