U.S. forces seized Iranian-made ballistic and cruise missile components and other weapons last week believed to be intended for the Houthis, U.S. Central Command announced on Tuesday.
Navy SEALs operating from the USS Lewis B. Puller boarded a dhow on Thursday near the coast of Somalia in international waters off the Arabian Sea.
In addition to finding the missile components, U.S. forces also recovered propulsion, guidance, and warheads for Houthi medium-range ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles. Initial indications, per CENTCOM, are a match to the weapons the Houthis have deployed in recent weeks.
Two SEALs involved in the seizure of the dhow are missing, lost at sea, while U.S. forces are conducting operations to locate them.
“We are conducting an exhaustive search for our missing teammates,” CENTCOM commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said.
The 14 crew members were taken into custody while the SEALs sank the dhow.
“It is clear that Iran continues shipment of advanced lethal aid to the Houthis,” Kurilla said. “This is yet another example of how Iran actively sows instability throughout the region in direct violation of U.N Security Resolution 2216 and International law. We will continue to work with regional and international partners to expose and interdict these efforts, and ultimately to reestablish freedom of navigation.”
The seizure of Iranian-supplied weapons to the Houthis was the first since they began attacking merchant vessels last November, according to CENTCOM, and it is the first time the U.S. has seized Iranian weapons since November 2019.
The Yemen-based, Iranian-supported Houthis have carried out roughly 30 attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea since mid-November 2023. Their attacks have continued this week despite joint U.S.-U.K. airstrikes late last week.
U.S. and U.K. forces struck more than 60 Houthi targets in Yemen last week. They targeted the Houthis’ infrastructure used to carry out the attacks, including munitions depots, launching systems, air defense radar systems, and command and control nodes. Despite the strikes, U.S. military officials expected some sort of retaliation from the Houthis.
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On Monday, the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated container ship, was hit by a Houthi-fired missile but did not report any injuries or significant damage.
The attacks represent a source of concern for the Biden administration, which desperately has attempted to prevent a regional conflict emanating from Israel’s war against Hamas, which the Houthis have cited as the reason for their attacks.
