US State Department publishes photos of seized Iranian missiles

US State Department publishes photos of seized Iranian missiles
December 6, 2019, 10:35 am

The US State Department released photos of the seized Iranian missiles. (Supplied)

The US State Department has released photos of the shipment of Iranian weapons and missile parts seized by the US Navy in the Arabian Sea before its arrival to the Iran backed Houthi militias in Yemen, said US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook on Saturday.

The seizure happened on November 25 when a US warship conducted a routine flag-verification boarding in international waters off the coast of Yemen, said Hook in a video posted on the State Department’s twitter account. When sailors noticed a small wooden boat not displaying a country flag, the Navy and Coast Guard personnel stopped and boarded the boat for inspection and found the weapons.

“The seizure includes sophisticated weapons, sophisticated components of anti-ship cruise missiles, land attack cruise missiles, air defense missiles and anti-tank missiles,” Hook said. “The weapon components comprise the most sophisticated weapons seized by the US Navy to date, during the Yemen conflict.”

The US has consistently accused Iran of illegally smuggling arms to the Houthis battling the Yemeni government and has seized smaller and less sophisticated weapons in transit.

Smuggling weapons into Yemen is a violation of a UN Security Council resolution.

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