U.S. Central Command confirmed on Wednesday that the Yemeni National Resistance Forces recently interdicted a huge shipment of Iranian weapons that was being transported to the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist organization.
In a Wednesday press release, U.S. Central Command said, “Congratulations to the Yemeni National Resistance Forces (NRF), led by Gen. Tareq Saleh, for the largest seizure of Iranian advanced conventional weapons in their history.”
U.S. Central Command explained that the Yemeni National Resistance Forces were able to intercept and seize more than 750 tons of “munitions and hardware to include hundreds of advanced cruise, anti-ship, and anti-aircraft missiles, warheads and seekers, components as well as hundreds of drone engines, air defense equipment, radar systems, and communications equipment.”
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According to the press release, the Yemeni National Resistance Forces claimed that the weapons shipment included manuals written in Farsi, which is the official language of Iran, and that many of the weapons systems were manufactured by a U.S.-sanctioned company linked to the Iranian Ministry of Defense. U.S. Central Command confirmed that the “illegal shipment” of weapons was intended to provide weapons that would be used by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist organization.
“We commend the legitimate government forces of Yemen who continue to interdict the flow of Iranian munitions bound for the Houthis,” Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, stated. “The interdiction of this massive Iranian shipment shows that Iran remains the most destabilizing actor in the region. Limiting the free flow of Iranian support to the Houthis is critical to regional security, stability, and freedom of navigation.”
A video and pictures shared Thursday on X, formerly Twitter, by U.S. Central Command show numerous weapon systems included in the shipment that was intercepted by the Yemeni National Resistance Forces.
In September, Reuters reported that Iran was helping broker discussions between Russia and the Houthis to transport Russian missiles to the Iran-backed organization. At the time, an intelligence source told Reuters, “Russia is negotiating with the Houthis for the transfer of Yakhont supersonic anti-ship missiles.” The intelligence source added, “The Iranians are brokering the talks but do not want to have their signature over it.”
