US Navy: 'Massive Amount' of Explosives That Could Power Dozens of Missiles Seized in Fishing Boat from Iran

On a fishing boat traveling from Iran to Yemen, the US Navy intercepted enough fuel to launch more than a dozen medium-range ballistic missiles.

On November 8, the US Naval Forces 5th Fleet intercepted the ship as it was sailing along a route used to transport weapons to the Houthi rebels, who get support from Iran, in the conflict-torn nation.

US Navy Seizes 70 Tonnes of Explosive Materials

Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of the US 5th Fleet, Combined Maritime Forces, and US Naval Forces Central Command, said in a statement that "the illegal delivery of deadly aid from Iran does not go undetected." It is reckless, hazardous, and fuels unrest and instability throughout the Middle East.

The US allegedly intercepted the ship, according to the 5th Fleet. The guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans and the Coast Guard vessel USCGC John Scheuerman, according to Fox News.

The US 5th Fleet reported that when the ship was in port, "forces discovered more than 70 tons of ammonium perchlorate, a potent oxidizer widely used to produce rocket and missile fuel as well as explosives," adding that it was the first time the item had been seized.

According to the Fifth Fleet, the captured vessel contained four Yemeni crew members and was carrying 100 tonnes of urea fertilizer, which is used in agriculture as well as the manufacture of explosives. It was a "danger to navigation for commercial ships," according to US Navy, who sunk the ship on Sunday in the Gulf of Oman. The crew was turned over to the Yemeni coast guard, as per NDTV.

The Fifth Fleet confiscated an ammunition and assault weapon shipment from a fishing vessel last December, alleging that the shipment was intended to support the Houthis and thought to have come from Iran.

The consignment was so heavy that the dhow became a danger to adjacent vessels in the Gulf of Oman, which connects the Persian Gulf's tight Strait of Hormuz with the Indian Ocean. Because of the risk, the US Navy decided to sink the ship with a lot of the stuff still on board, according to Hawkins.

Iran's Explosive Weapons Shipments

On Tuesday, the Sullivans turned over the four Yemeni crew members to the nation's officially recognized government. When asked how the US Navy arrived to the decision to halt the ship, Hawkins merely responded that there were "multiple means" by which the Navy was aware that the ship was carrying fuel and was headed for Yemen from Iran. He didn't go into more detail.

In September 2014, the Houthis took control of Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and drove the internationally recognized government into exile. In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's exiled government and armed with US equipment and intelligence entered the conflict.

The poorest country in the Arab world is on the verge of starvation as a result of years of fruitless conflict. Since 2014, a United Nations arms embargo has restricted the shipment of weaponry to the Houthis.

Despite this, Iran has long been sending dhow shipments filled with guns, rocket-propelled grenades, missiles, and other weapons to the Houthis. Despite Iran's denials, independent specialists, Western countries, and UN experts have been able to identify Iran as the source of parts found on imprisoned vessels that were taken overseas.

Despite international efforts to extend it, Yemen's war's longest-lasting cease-fire expired in October. Fears that the war would get worse again resulted from this. In Yemen, combat has resulted in more than 150,000 deaths, including more than 14,500 civilians. Since the expiration of the cease-fire, there have been intermittent assaults. A drone strike by the Houthis in late October targeted a Greek cargo ship close to the coastal city of Mukalla, however the ship was unharmed, LA Times reported.